by Michaela Meade
Speeding was found to be a major offence in Hume and Whittlesea during an eight day safety blitz by Victoria Police.
Operation Compass saw Victoria Police ramp up patrols over Melbourne Cup week, which coincided with COVID-19 travel restrictions lifting between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
The Hume Police Service Area recorded nine speeding offences, while the Whittlesea Police Service Area recorded six, according to Victoria Police data.
An 18-year-old South Morang man had his licence suspended after he was allegedly caught speeding at 114 km/h in a 70 km/h zone on Yan Yean Road.
Police said a 28-year-old Mernda man was allegedly observed speeding on the same road at 119 km/h. His vehicle was impounded.
Police also said a 20-year-old Wollert man had his motorcycle impounded after he allegedly travelled at 114 km/h in a 60 km/h zone on O’Herns Road in Epping.
Both Hume and Whittlesea municipalities were on the low end of overall number detections over the operation, with Hume recording 21 offences, and Whittlesea recording 12.
Other offences recorded in Hume included one unlicensed driver, three disobeying signs/signals, one seatbelt offence, three mobile phone offences, and four unregistered vehicles offences.
Other offences recorded in Whittlesea included two disobeying signs/signals, one mobile phone offence, and three unregistered vehicle offences.
Victoria Police said the areas with the highest number of detections included Banyule (449), Wangaratta (308), Geelong (278), Cardinia (259) and Latrobe (223).
Operation Compass was conducted in two phases, from 12:01am Friday, October 29, to 11:59pm Tuesday, November 2, and from 12:01am Friday, November 5, to 11:59pm on Sunday, November 7.
