Victoria Police Alarmed By Disobedient Drivers To Begin Holiday Season

Police officers in Victoria have been alarmed by the number of drivers caught breaking the road laws to start the holiday period.

In the first week of Operation Roadwise, Victoria Police have detected 6,970 offences on roads, 15% more than this time last year.

Officers have conducted around 104,000 preliminary breath tests, catching 255 drivers for alcohol use.

One in every thirteen drivers have tested positive on the roadside drug test.

Speeding continues to be a issue, with mid-range speeding between  10km/h and 25km/h has caused majority of infringements issued.

While the use of phones has proven a costly lead-up to Christmas for almost 500 motorists, each copping a $555 fine and 4 demerit points.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Road Policing, Justin Goldsmith has urged drivers to take care and consider others this festive season.

“Police don’t want to be issuing fines so close to Christmas, but blatantly breaking the road rules leaves us no choice – and unfortunately we’ve already seen thousands of examples of this just one week into Operation Roadwise," he said.

“Every single one of these infringements could have been avoided if people simply made better choices before getting behind the wheel. There is absolutely no excuse for drink or drug driving, for speeding, or for allowing yourself to be distracted."

Police will continue roadside efforts over the Christmas weekend, with a shift in focus to regional travel on Boxing Day.

It comes as the state records 239 lives lost, surpassing last year’s total of 234 with days left in the year.

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