As Victorians across the state enjoyed the extra long weekend and tucked into easter eggs and hot cross buns, Victoria Police detected 44 traffic offences across Hume and Whittlesea as part of Operation Nexus.
The four day, statewide operation saw police targeting high-risk driving behaviour, from 12.01am Friday, March 29 to 11.59 pm Monday, April 1.
In Hume, police detected three mobile phone offences, three disqualified drivers, four unlicensed drivers, two drink drivers, two impoundments, two seatbelt offences, one unregistered vehicle, and one disobeying signs/signals offence for a total of 18 offences.
In Whittlesea, police detected 26 total offences, including six speeding offences, one drug driver, two impoundments, three unregistered vehicles, one disqualified driver, four unlicensed drivers, , five disobeying signs/signals offences, and four mobile phone offences.
Across the state, 8238 traffic offences were recorded as part of Operation Nexus, including almost 4000 Victorians caught speeding, with over 400 people clocked travelling more than 25 kilometres over the speed limit.
A total of three people died due to road incidents over the long weekend, taking the current road toll for the year to 73, a decrease on the same time last year which was 82.
Another area of concern for police was 147 positive drug driving tests from 2878 roadside tests, meaning one in 20 tested were driving under the influence of drugs.
Further, 231 drivers were found to be drink driving, from a total of 137,763 preliminary breath tests, a rate of one in every 596 tests returning a result over the legal limit.
Road Policing Assistant Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said the amount of impaired drivers on the road over the long weekend was alarming.
”To see people combining alcohol and speed is terrifying, putting not only their lives but the lives of others at serious risk,” he said.
“We saw two separate occasions of people overloading their cars, with children, then driving impaired.
“This is complete idiocy and it’s lucky none of those children were killed or injured.”
