Assistant Police Commissioner Doug Fryer voiced his concern last week about the number of drivers tested for drugs or alcohol who returned a positive reading during an AFL grand final long weekend blitz.
In Whittlesea, police detected six unregistered vehicles, four drink-drivers, two disqualified drivers, one unlicensed and one not wearing a seat belt.
In Hume, police stopped six unregistered vehicles, two drink-drivers, one speeding driver, one disobeying a traffic control, and three on their mobile phone while driving.
Mr Fryer said one in nine drivers, or 218 of the more than 1900 who were tested, was found to have traces of illegal drugs in their system.
More than 121,000 drivers underwent preliminary breath tests and 286 recorded a blood-alcohol concentration over the legal limit.
Mr Fryer said: “With grand final celebrations being held across the state we knew people would consume alcohol and unfortunately take illicit substances.
“It’s extremely disappointing to see more than 500 impaired drivers on our roads,” Mr Fryer said.
“Each one is lucky we caught them before they killed themselves or someone else.”
During the long weekend, more than 2000 people in Victoria were caught speeding and 368 were stopped for using their mobile phone while driving.
No booze or drug buses were set up in Hume or Whittlesea. Instead, local police set up their own random breath- testing sites.
