Police have praised Brimbank’s motorists after a statewide road operation delivered pleasing results.
Brimbank Highway Patrol Sergeant Bill Joannidis said drivers were on their best behavior throughout Operation Furlong, which ran from Friday, November 3 to Tuesday, November 7.
“Over 5000 preliminary breath tests were conducted on motorists in Brimbank over the course of the operation,” Sergeant Joannidis said. “Only eight drivers were charged with being over the limit.
“This is an excellent result and shows that drivers in Brimbank are getting the message that drinking and driving is dangerous and that there is a good chance of being caught.”
All available Brimbank Highway Patrol officers were on the streets throughout the operation, which focused on speeding, drink and drug driving and distraction offences such as mobile phones. In total, 160 fines were issued in Brimbank over the five days – the majority for speeding and mobile phone offences.
The positive result was also reflected in the collision data, with only one serious injury collision reported across Brimbank over the five-day operation.
The incident occurred on Friday, November 3 when a car collided with a motorcycle when turning into a car park in St Albans.
Sergeant Joannidis labelled Operation Furlong a great success.
“This long weekend operation was a great success with high visible police presence leading to a great reduction in injury collisions.”
The positive result in Brimbank is in stark contrast to the statewide performance – more than 9000 offences were detected on Victorian roads.
Eight fatalities were recorded across the state during the operation, a result Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer called “unacceptable.”
“More than 23,0682 preliminary breath tests were administered and more than 2470 roadside drug tests conducted,” he said.
“It’s unacceptable that more than 500 people were detected driving whilst under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.”
