A senior police officer is disappointed with the number of people caught doing the wrong thing on local roads this Christmas, with 178 offences detected in Greater Shepparton during a 12-day police operation.
These included six drink drivers and four drug drivers, making up half of the drink or drug drivers detected throughout the entire Eastern Region Division Three area.
The drink drivers were caught from 1744 breath tests conducted in Greater Shepparton.
Forty-two motorists were also detected speeding in the operation, which ran from December 16 to 11.59pm on Tuesday, December 27.
The worst of the speeders detected in Shepparton was a 16-year-old Mooroopna boy who was allegedly clocked doing 144km/h in a 60km/h zone on Doyles Rd, Shepparton, at 1.30am on Christmas Day.
He was also driving without headlights on, without a driver’s licence and it is alleged he returned a positive drug test for methamphetamines.
Also in Shepparton, 14 drivers were caught driving unlicensed or on a disqualified licence during Operation Roadwise, while four were not wearing a seatbelt and four were using mobile phones while driving.
Eastern Region Division Three Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant David Gillespie was concerned about the number of offences detected in Greater Shepparton, particularly the number of people caught drink or drug driving.
“It’s disappointing,” he said.
“As a community we have a real car culture, and we all know the impact of road trauma. We’ve felt it.
“Yet we still have this level of offending behaviour when people know police will be out.
“It is concerning, especially given the traffic volume Shepparton has day in and day out.
“Our message not to speed has not been heeded.
“And we have been quite vocal about wearing seatbelts and using phones, so that is disappointing (we caught people).”
Sen Sgt Gillespie said Greater Shepparton was lucky not to have had any fatal or serious collisions.
“With this level of offending, we were fortunate not to have any serious injury collisions,” he said.
“People knew we (police) were going to be out there and we still got that level of offending.”
In the Mitchell and Strathbogie shires combined, 178 offences were detected.
These included five motorists caught drink driving, 42 speeding, and 10 without a licence.
There were also four heavy vehicle offences detected.
In the Benalla, Mansfield and Murrundindi shires, 135 offences were detected.
These included three drink drivers — from 6453 breath tests.
There were also 96 caught speeding, and six who were unlicensed.
Overall, across the entire Eastern Region Division Three police area, 427 offences were detected.
Theses included 20 drink or drug drivers.
There was also two fatal accidents.
A motorcyclist died after hitting a tree in Mansfield, while a person riding on a ride-on mower died after it tipped over in Kinglake.
There were also five serious injury collisions in the region, which resulted in six people being taken to hospital.
Three of these involved motorcycles, while two involved vehicles losing control and running off the road.
With the new year just around the corner, and holidays continuing, Sen Sgt Gillespie is urging people to stay safe on the roads.
“I ask people to continue to be mindful of their journey,” he said.
“They should watch their alcohol and drug intake before driving, obey speed limits, put their phone away, and make sure they wear a seatbelt.
“On New Year’s Eve we want to make sure people enjoy the night but don’t go rushing to drive early the next morning.
“Be aware that if you have consumed alcohol or drugs you may not be fit to drive for some time afterwards.
“If you have consumed alcohol and intend to drive shortly after, don’t.
“Find another way home.”