By Laura Michell
Police will be out in force in Epping in the next 10 weeks in a bid to reduce the number of people being killed on Victorian roads.
Police will work an extra 300 shifts across priority areas including Epping, Dandenong, Bendigo and Shepparton as part of the TAC-funded Operation Kinetic.
Road Policing Command Acting Assistant Commissioner Neville Taylor said the operation would focus on addressing bad driver behaviour such as drink and drug driving and speeding, as well as motorcyclist and pedestrian safety.
So far this year, 76 people have died on the state’s road – an increase of almost 50 per cent from the same time last year.
Earlier this month, a 15-year-old girl from Wollert died after being thrown from a car following a single vehicle crash in Cooper Street, Epping.
In February, a 26-year-old man died in hospital after allegedly being hit by a car in High Street, Epping.
Today Victoria Police launches Operation Kinetic to combat road trauma.
On top of business as usual, an additional 300 shifts will be completed as police crack-down on poor driver behaviours.
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— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) March 24, 2019
‘Looking at our intelligence, we know that different regions are battling different issues that drive up our road trauma,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Taylor said.
“Local police will look at problematic locations and particular patterns in bad driver behaviour and target accordingly.”
Assistant Acting Commissioner Taylor said police would saturate the roads as reminder for drivers to follow the road rules.
“Enough is enough and action needs to be taken,” he said. “We see first-hand time and time again the devastation experienced by the victims’ families, as well as our first responders directly because of road trauma,” he said.
“The community can’t continue with their current driving habits as it is ultimately killing friends, family and loved ones.”
