Police have recorded the first Victorian zero fatality long weekend in, but remain highly concerned that some drivers continue to put lives on the line.
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Ballarat Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant Pat Cleary labelled Operation Scoreboard results highly disturbing, as police nabbed 10 drivers for driving with an illegal substance in their system, a further five for driving with a higher than legal blood alcohol concentration and one for driving with both.
Ballarat police recorded 199 road offences over the four day operation, 88 were speeding offences, 15 were for driving unregistered vehicles and seven led to impoundments.
“It’s disturbing that so many offences were detected – what is particularly concerning is the number of drivers detected with an illegal substance or alcohol in their system,” Senior Sergeant Cleary said.
“People that drive with drugs or alcohol in their system put themselves and all other road users in extreme danger.
“It is concerning that those who are affected by drugs and alcohol chose to drive – but they must understand they will ultimately be detected.”
Senior Sergeant Cleary said a number of drivers who flouted the laws lost their licence over the long weekend. Despite the high number of offences the trauma on local roads was limited, with no major accidents over the period. Senior Sergeant Cleary said this showed that the majority of road users did do the right thing.
“Those drivers should be congratulated and we encourage them to keep up the good work,” Senior Sergeant Cleary said.
Highway Patrol police will continue to have a strong presence on the state’s roads in the lead-up to the spring carnival and following festive period. Nearly 5 per cent of the state’s drug driving offences were recorded in Ballarat – with the overall number 202. Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer labelled the zero fatalities result “fantastic” but was alarmed by the number people choosing to take risks.
“Unfortunately we did still detect a significant amount of people taking serious risks with not only their own lives but also the lives of others,” he said.
Police will enforce 40km/h school zones from today.
- Impoundments – 7
- Unregistered vehicles – 15
- Mobile phone offences - 5
- Seat belt offences – 3
- Disobey traffic control – 7
- Speeding offences – 88
- Unlicensed drivers – 10
- Disqualified drivers – 5
- Positive OFT – 10
- BAC offences – 5