Ballarat police crack down on drunk and tired truck drivers on the Sunraysia Highway

Operation Vector involves Highway Patrol officers across Western Victoria and is expected to wrap up mid-year.

Ballarat Senior Sergeant Liam Gardner said the driver from Geelong recorded an alleged blood alcohol reading of 0.079 after being intercepted on the Sunraysia Highway just after 9am on Wednesday.

He said the 61-year-old told police the last time he had consumed alcohol was the night before.

"This was one of the first trucks we pulled over on Wednesday," Senior Sergeant Gardner said.

"Heavy vehicle drivers should not have any alcohol in their system. They need to be at 0.00 per cent.

"It's the same for bus drivers and P-platers."

He said the driver faced an on-the-spot fine and his licence was suspended for six months.

Other truck drivers at Waubra were reported for alleged work-diary and seatbelt offences.

Several 'canaries' - yellow truck defect notices - were also issued.

Senior Sergeant Gardner said many of the trucks on the day on the Sunraysia Highway were very large vehicles heading to or from grain harvesting areas.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator is also working with the police operation, which will target main arterials across the west of the state.

"My message is like they say in the ads: 'The lucky ones get caught', Senior Sergeant Gardner said.

"Just remember this operation will be ongoing across Western Victoria over the next few months - and drivers could get intercepted and checked at any time."

The operation comes as disturbing National Heavy Vehicle Regulator figures show that 1039 fatigue breaches were detected among 866 heavy vehicles across Victoria last year.

These were detected via methods including logbook and compliance checks.

The regulator said examples of fatigue breaches can include exceeding the permitted work time in a 24 hour period by 15 minutes or more, failing to add up hours in the work diary as well as taking less than five hours and 45 minutes of rest across the day.

"The regulator's Safety and Compliance Officers perform risk-based intercepts, driven by analysis and intelligence data," a spokesperson said.

"As a result, it is to be expected that our intercepts efficiently target those within the industry who are not complying with the Heavy Vehicle National Law..

"(However we know) the vast majority of businesses and drivers take the safety of their people very seriously and do the right thing to keep our roads safe."