Drink driving was a contributing factor in 9 per cent of the 151 serious and fatal crashes that occurred in Wagga between 2016 and 2020 - compared to the state's average rate of just 7 per cent.

As one of the 35 initiatives put forward in the Wagga Transport Plan released this week, Transport for NSW will work with council, police, industry and community representatives to curb the city's drink driving rates.

Educational programs, extended hours for public transport services, and improvements to rideshare and taxi services will be some of the options considered.

Darren Moulds, a Riverina Highway Patrol Inspector, said drink driving was an issue in Wagga and urged motorists to take responsibility for their actions.

"If they choose to drink they need to not drive and they need to make alternate arrangements if they have to travel anywhere," he said.

"The higher your blood alcohol level, the more at risk you are of having a collision and those collisions can have serious consequences."

Wagga councillor Dan Hayes is a member of the local traffic committee and said the higher rate of alcohol-related crashes was a serious concern.

"The drink driving message has been running for decades now and we know how important it is not just for your own safety but also for other road users," he said.

"It's completely unacceptable and ultimately it's the individual's responsibility which we need to keep front of mind - it doesn't happen if people don't get behind the wheel of the car."

Cr Hayes welcomed the potential strategies to reduce drink driving included in the Wagga Transport Plan.

"I think those check all the boxes and I think the community expects that we continue to reduce drink driving," he said.

The data included in the report also showed that Edward Street and Bourke Street are the two stretches of road where the most serious crashes occur in Wagga.

Cr Hayes said this likely came down to the roads having consistently high volumes of traffic.

He expressed hopes that the new traffic lights set to be installed at the intersection of Edward and Murray Streets later this year could help reduce crashes.

Local driving instructor Paul Dawson spends many hours on Wagga roads each day and said one of the key issues he'd noticed was speeding and aggressive driving.

"People have got to stop rushing, it seems like everyone's in a hurry," he said.

"So many drivers endanger people and rush around for very little result."

"When we're in the car we've got to be all business."

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