Hannah Hammoud
Victoria Police were kept busy over the AFL Grand Final long weekend, detecting 36 traffic offences in Brimbank as part of Operation Scoreboard.
The four day, statewide operation saw police targeting high-risk driving behaviour, from 12.01am Thursday, September 28 to 11.59pm Sunday, October 1, with a particular focus on drink and drug driving.
In Brimbank, police detected 13 speeding offences, six offences of disobeying signs/signals, four drink driving offences, four unregistered vehicles, three unlicensed drivers, two disqualified drivers, two mobile phone offences, two other drink/drug offences, two mobile phone offences, one drug driver offence, and one impoundment.
Across the state 5483 offences were detected, including a strike rate of one in 529 drivers caught over the blood alcohol limit.
Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said it was a busy weekend as Victorians made the most of the long weekend and warm spring weather.
“This also meant a busy weekend for Victoria Police [who]… focused heavily on drink and drug drivers,” he said.
“While pleasingly the majority of those tested were doing the right thing, we still detected 343 drink and drug driving offences – this is unacceptable.
“It was a tragic period on the roads with four lives lost in separate collisions… [bringing] the number of lives lost now [to] a seven year high.
“It is paramount that we all do everything we can to stop more trauma on our roads this year. Now is not the time to be complacent.”
The four lives lost over the weekend include a 25-year old Newborough man, 41-year old Eltham North male motorcyclist, a 19-year old Cowes male passenger and a 21-year old Frankston male passenger.
The weekend’s fatalities brings the number of lives lost on Victorian roads this year to 216, which is 29 higher than the same time last year and the highest in seven years.
