Speaking to The Courier last week, highway patrol senior sergeant Liam Gardner said police targeted speeding throughout phase one and two of Operation Compass.

"Speeding is one of the things that heightens people's likelihood to be involved in a collision, especially when they're on unfamiliar roads," he said.

According to Victoria Police, 11 drink drivers and eight drug drivers were detected in the Ballarat area over the two weekends.

"We're still detecting some drivers being detected both over the limit as far as alcohol is concerned and with drugs in the system - which is always concerning," Senior Sergeant Gardner said.

Operation Compass also saw eight disqualified drivers, 13 unlicensed drivers and 18 unregistered vehicles detected in the Ballarat area.

There were also 13 disobey signs or signals offences, five mobile phone offences, six vehicle impounds and five cyclist offences.

There was 2 seatbelt violations in Ballarat.

Statewide, police detected almost 13,000 traffic offences and there were five lives lost on Victorian roads over the period, with fatal collisions in Elwood on Thursday 14 April, Caulfield on Sunday 17 April, Greenwald and North Melbourne on Monday 18 April and Baxter on Tuesday 19 April.

The deaths bring this year's state road fatalities to 81, with 16 lives lost in the month of April alone.

After one of the lowest years on record for lives lost on Victorian roads in 2021, this year's figures, documented by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), show a significant increase in the road toll - and a grim rise in regional deaths.

According to the TAC, there has been a 32 per cent increase in lives lost on the road in regional Victoria, with 49 deaths up from 37 deaths this time last year.

Speaking to The Courier this month, TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore said the rise was disappointing.

"Excessive speed, fatigue and impairment are major factors in regional areas, and when travelling longer distances in high-speed zones the consequences are more severe when something goes wrong," he said.

"Road safety is a shared responsibility and the choices we make can be the reason we or someone else gets home safely - don't drink or drug drive, don't speed, put your phone away, don't drive tired, and put on your seatbelt."

Senior Sergeant Gardner said more vehicles were on the road than this time last year.

"Because of the nature of lockdowns and so on and so forth, this Easter the traffic on the roads was back pre-pandemic, if not greater than pre-pandemic numbers," he said.

"So again, just reminding people to take care on the roads, take regular regular breaks, don't be distracted by mobile phones or GPS or other devices travelling through our area."

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