Police to roll out new tactic to catch drink, drug and unlicensed drivers

The police will start their Easter Holiday road safety operation on Friday with new tools ready to catch drivers who think they can outsmart authorities.

Darling Downs police are changing how they roll out their Easter Holiday road safety operation to outsmart drink, drug and unlicensed drivers.

Along with the usual high-visibility patrols and speed traps, Operation Victor Easter will have police deploying roving RBT teams that will bounce around the districts with short, sharp testing sites.

By moving around quickly the police will cover more ground and move on before offending drivers learn where they are and change their route to avoid detection.

Darling Downs Highway Patrol Sergeant Brendan Harding said drivers should expect to see these sporadic sites whenever they get behind the wheel.

“We won’t just be on the highways,” he said

“We will be in the backstreets, on the rat-races and the country roads.

“The idea is to be identifiable, to be seen and to engage with the public because it is not just about issuing fines, it is about changing drivers’ behaviour.”

The Easter holidays traditionally bring a spike in serious and fatal traffic crashes as people move about the country visiting friends and family.

During the 2022 Easter long weekend one person died while 60 people were injured in traffic crashes

The QPS recorded 3788 traffic infringements of which 1217 were for speeding and 471 were for drivers caught driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Every Darling Downs Highway Patrol officer will be rostered on for duty while each of the outlying police stations have committed extra officers to Operation Victor Easter.

“There will be vastly more RBT sites this year,” Sergeant Harding said.

“We will be out there looking to talk to the public.”

QPS Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Stream said the school holiday periods always see increased traffic on the roads with families eager to get to their destinations and travelling in unfamiliar areas.

“Day or night, ensure you drive to the conditions. Don’t speed or drive affected by drugs or alcohol,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Stream said.

“We know that we can significantly reduce fatal crashes if motorists avoid the fatal five behaviours: speeding, drink or drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, driving tired and distracted driving.

“Expect to see police conducting roadside operations and patrolling our roads, doing everything we can to reduce road trauma and keep Queenslanders safe.

Originally published as Police to roll out new tactic to catch drink, drug and unlicensed drivers