More than 700 drunk and drug drivers were caught by Victoria Police during a major road safety effort across the Easter and Anzac Day period.
Police target impaired drivers from 17–27 April as part of an operation.
There were 375 drink driving offences detected from 214,355 preliminary breath tests.
A total of 371 drivers returned a positive roadside drug test.
This equates to one in every 21 drivers tested for drugs.
About 4800 speeding offences were detected, with three quarters of speeding drivers travelling between 10 and 25 kilometres an hour over the posted limit.
More than 850 drivers who should not have been on the road at all – because they were either unlicensed, disqualified or suspended from driving – were caught during the operation.
Police also issued 687 infringements to motorists for disobeying traffic signs or signals, 544 for mobile offences, and 187 for seatbelt noncompliance.
The total of11,758 traffic offences detected during the operation included:
• 4801 speeding offences
• 687 disobeying signs or signals offences
• 506 unlicensed drivers
• 544 mobile phone offences
• 345 disqualified or suspended drivers
• 187 seatbelt offences
• 234 vehicle impounds
• 1137 unregistered vehicles
• 371 drug driving offences from 8051 roadside drug tests and;
• 375 drink driving offences from 214,355 preliminary breath tests.
There were nine fatal collisions across the state during the operation.
The most recent led to a male driver killed when his car crashed at Warragul on Sunday, April 27.
There have been 95 lives lost on the roads so far this year, up from 92 at the same time last year.
Victoria Police road policing assistant commissioner Glenn Weir said that “the fact so many people are making bad choices during what we know is a high-risk period on our roads is extremely concerning.”
“The number of drivers detected drug and alcohol affected is completely unacceptable … these drivers are a risk not only to themselves but to all road users,” Mr Weir said.
“What’s particularly concerning is the 850 people who were detected driving while unlicensed, disqualified or suspended … unauthorised drivers are over-represented in road trauma, and we saw that to be the case during this operation, because around half of drivers involved in fatal collisions shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place,” he said.
“We are also seeing people fail to take simple precautions to keep themselves safe like wearing a seatbelt … to see that almost 200 people failed to buckle up is truly baffling … we will continue to have zero tolerance for those who blatantly disregard safety on our roads.”
