By Tate Papworth
Brimbank Highway Patrol will enlist the help of Victoria Police’s air wing as part of a continuing crackdown on stolen motorbikes.
Operation Endo will begin in February, with police helicopters to follow riders attempting to evade police.
Brimbank Highway Patrol Sergeant Bill Joannidis said it will make the job of local officers a lot easier.
“It’s so hard to catch even one bike because they don’t have plates and they don’t stop,” he said. “Now we’ve got the air wing on board, that job becomes a lot easier and allows us to follow them for longer periods.”
Motorcyclists have been heavily targeted by Brimbank Highway Patrol this summer and Sergeant Joannidis said the results have been exceptional.
“We’ve managed to intercept nine stolen motorbikes in the past month,” he said. “We were able to intercept them while they were stopped at lights. Given how difficult it is to catch just one, a result of nine stolen bikes off the road and returned to their owners is significant.”
Three motorcyclists also had their bikes impounded for driving while their licence was suspended.
Sergeant Joannidis said local results from the statewide Operation Roadwise were also pleasing. The operation, which ran from December 14 to January 6, focused on reducing road trauma and raising awareness around road user behaviour.
“Pleasingly we had no fatal collisions recorded during this high risk period and only five serious injury collisions, which is very good for any 20 day period,” he said.
Police conducted more than 400 preliminary breath tests throughout the operation. Sixteen drug or drunk drivers were detected.
More than 700 traffic offences were also detected, with police impounding 49 vehicles for excessive speed, driving while suspended and drink driving.
