Victoria Police is preparing for a busy period on the roads, asking drivers to take care after a “shocking” start to April.
Operation Compass will launch at midnight on April 14 and end at 11.59pm on April 25.
Acting Senior Sergeant Emma Moloney said extra police would be on patrol across regional Victoria to help reduce road trauma.
“The Eastern division has one of the highest rates of fatalities this year,” she said.
“And the majority of lives lost on the roads are on regional roads.”
Seventy-six people have died on Victorian roads so far this year, and eight of those were in the local police region.
To help deter dangerous driving over the upcoming Easter long weekend, Sen Sgt Moloney said Operation Compass would run in two phases, the first from midnight on Thursday, April 14 until 11.59pm on Monday, April 18.
It will ramp back up again at midnight on Friday, April 22 and end at 11.59pm on Monday, April 25 to cover the Anzac Day long weekend.
Police will be targeting drink and drug driving, speeding and other forms of dangerous driving.
“We’ve got school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day all in one,” Sen Sgt Moloney said.
“We’re expecting a lot of people travelling on the roads.”
Eleven people have died on Victorian roads since the beginning of April, and fatalities on regional roads have increased by 40 per cent since last year.
Victoria Police assistant commissioner for road policing Glenn Weir said the Easter period was always a dangerous time for travellers on Victorian roads.
“Just last weekend there were five fatalities on Victorian roads,” Commissioner Weir said.
“This follows a record low number of lives lost for March, which just shows how easily trauma can occur if we don’t all make road safety a priority.”
Victorian SES is set to run the Driver Reviver program across 30 sites in the state to support those travelling long distances. Drivers can stop at any of these sites and pick up a free cup of tea or coffee and snacks, while they take a rest from the road.
Sen Sgt Moloney said Victoria Police was also running Pause Stops in a number of locations.
“We encourage people to stop in and refresh before continuing on their way,” she said.
You can find more information about the Pause Stop locations on the police Eyewatch Facebook pages.