Victoria Police is launching a statewide road operation to coincide with the high-risk Australia Day period.
Although the Australia Day holiday falls midweek this year, police anticipate significant road activity as Victorians travel to regional areas, social gatherings and the beach.
Operation Amity starts at 12.01am on Tuesday, January 25, and concludes at 11.59pm on Wednesday, January 26.
Officers in Victoria Police’s fleet of alcohol and drug testing vehicles will be intercepting motorists to detect for alcohol and drugs amid a concerning spike in drink driving activity in recent months.
“We’re removing more unauthorised drivers from our roads than ever,” assistant commissioner road policing Glenn Weir said.
“These drivers have no right to be on our roads, they pose a significant risk not only to themselves but to all road users.”
New technology will allow police to scan the number plates of around 45 million vehicles a year to detect unauthorised drivers putting lives at risk on Victoria’s roads.
Automatic number plate recognition technology has been fitted to more than 200 Victoria Police highway patrol vehicles as part of a rollout completed last month.
It allows police to detect drivers who are suspended, disqualified or unlicensed as well as unregistered and stolen vehicles and fraudulent number plates.
Registration information can also be matched against a database of vehicles of interest so they can be identified and removed from the road.
The high-tech boost comes as police this week launch Operation Amity to reduce road trauma over the Australia Day holiday period.
Already, 19 people have died on Victoria’s roads this year, more than three times the figure during the same period in 2021.
Unauthorised driving was a factor in around 10 per cent of fatal collisions last year, with police more determined than ever to stop the senseless loss of life.
More than 1700 motorists who were disqualified, suspended, unlicensed or driving unregistered vehicles, were detected during the recent Christmas operation in just 10 days.
Since the first Victoria Police vehicle fitted with mobile ANPR technology hit the roads in February 2019 more than 97 million number plates have been scanned.
As well as increasing police’s ability to identify and remove dangerous drivers from the road, the ANPR system includes in-car video — a valuable tool to record audio and visual evidence during roadside intercepts that could be used in court.
Police will use all 221 ANPR-fitted highway patrol vehicles as part of Operation Amity, with patrols to focus on high-risk areas.
“Automatic number plate recognition technology gives us another set of eyes on the roads to stop these drivers in their tracks,” Mr Weir said.
“We will use the more-than 200 highway patrol vehicles fitted with this technology at every opportunity — especially high-risk holiday periods like Australia Day.”
For more information and tips for staying safe on the roads, visit the Road Safety page on the Victoria Police website.