Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant, Stuart Gale, said police anticipated much more traffic on the roads as people drive across the state to visit family and friends or for a weekend away in the lead up to Christmas.

The region's highway patrol units are back at full strength now the ring of steel has been dismantled and Senior Sergeant Gale said members would be turning their attention to addressing the spike in road trauma that has occurred across the region during recent weeks.

With less traffic on the roads when restrictions were in full force, the number of collisions has dropped significantly this year. But there has been a concerning number of serious and fatal collisions in the region in recent weeks, bringing the number of lives lost across the area to 11 this year. Police do not want to see that trend continue.

Wrapping up 'Operation Saturn' on Sunday night, police are particularly concerned about the number of speeding drivers detected. Across the Ballarat and Moorabool police service areas, police detected 283 speeding offences.

"The number of speeding drivers detected during that period of time is pretty alarming," Senior Sergeant Gale told The Courier.

"It's very concerning for me that members detected that many offences over that period of time because speed has a big impact in any collision and is directly proportional to more serious injuries."

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A number of other offences were also detected: 18 drink drivers, 12 drug drivers, 13 disqualified drivers, 23 unlicensed drivers, 16 people disobeying signs or signals, three seatbelt offences, eight mobile phone offences, 56 unregistered vehicles, one cyclist offence and there were also seven vehicles impounded.

Later this week, police will launch 'Operation Compass' to address police concerns about the rise in road trauma across the state as restrictions have been lifted in recent weeks.

This will see the region's police turning their focus to high-speed rural roads and targeting speeding offences, drink and drug driving, distraction and fatigue. The operation will run for the next few weeks.

There are concerns that as drivers have not travelled long distances for a significant period of time, that fatigue could lead to inattention or distraction behind the wheel - including inadvertently speeding.

Senior Sergeant Gale encouraged people to prepare for longer journeys and reduce the risk of fatigue causing a serious collision by only driving in daylight hours.

He encouraged people to allow plenty of time to get to their destination, to take regular breaks to curb fatigue and to share the drive if possible.

He said people could use technology to their advantage and encouraged the use of cruise control, though cautioned people to remain alert so they can appropriately respond if an animal was to jump on the road or a car in front to stop suddenly.

"You need to be prepared for unforeseen circumstance even though you are using technology."