As Victorians across the state enjoyed their long weekend and tried to stay cool, police detected 63 traffic offences in Hobsons Bay as part of Operation Arid.
The four day, state wide operation saw police targeting high-risk driving behaviour, from March 8 to March 11, with a particular focus on drink and drug driving as several music festivals were planned for the weekend.
In Hobsons Bay, police detected 16 speeding offences, 14 unregistered vehicles, 14 unlicensed drivers, two drug drivers, four disqualified drivers, two mobile phone offences, four seatbelt offences, two impoundments, one cyclist offence and four offences of disobeying signs-signals.
In Maribyrnong, the only offence recorded over the weekend was one impoundment.
Across the state 6488 traffic offences were recorded as part of Operation Arid, including five deaths.
Extreme drink driving was also noted as an area of concern by police, with 203 drink drivers detected from 76,060 preliminary breath tests state wide.
While this was a key concern pointed out by police, both Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay recorded zero drink driving offences as part of the operation.
Road Policing Acting Assistant Commissioner John Fitzpatrick said the number of drink drivers police saw on the long weekend is simply unacceptable.
“We’re also seeing too many people getting behind the wheel when they shouldn’t – be it for drinking, taking drugs or not having a licence,” he said.
“To find so many people driving around without a seatbelt is mindboggling. A seatbelt can’t save you if you’re not wearing it.
“To think so many people were driving at extreme speeds is even more worrying,” he said.
“At high speed there’s little room for error and the consequences of a mistake are magnified. To put it bluntly, it’s a recipe for disaster.
“These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone doing the wrong thing on our roads.”
