THE carol might talk about the 12 days of Christmas, but for police it will be twice as long as they prepare to blitz the region’s roads for 24 days over the Christmas-New Year period.
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Operation Road Wise, which began at midnight last night is a statewide blitz aimed at keeping drivers safe on our roads throughout the holidays.
Senior Sergeant Ben Young said the aim of the operation was to work to keep the road toll to zero this holiday period.
“It’s extremely sad to see that 28 people have been killed on the roads in western Victoria this year,” Senior Sergeant Young said.
“When we look at those families of the 28 people, or the 12 people who have died locally in the Ballarat region, it gives us a reminder of the impact road trauma has on everyone.
“This operation is not just about enforcement, but it’s also a proactive message to drivers that we are aware that a lot of drivers are changing their driving habits.
“They are driving longer distances and often at hours they don’t normally drive, so plan your journey, allow for rest periods but also recognise factors like the weather, particularly on days like today that can impact on their journey.”
Superintendent Jenny Wilson said even she had had to change her driving habits.
“This is my first Christmas as the Superintendent up here,” she said.
“I’ve been a city person for most of the last 30 years and I know myself that driving here is very different to driving in the city.
“I’ve had to learn myself to drive differently, there’s different environmental conditions, the weather is different, roads are different, the GPS often takes you on back roads.
“People need to alter their driving behaviour to be aware of their surrounds.”
Senior Sergeant Young said the operation would focus on speed, impairment and distraction.
“As we move into Christmas, distraction is a huge increase, particularly with mobile phones and as such that will be a main focus for us,” he said.
“Zero deaths is definitely achievable. We’ve had numerous months this year locally where we have had a zero road trauma and we want to change those months and turn them into quarters, to half years, to a year where we don’t have people die on our roads.”
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