Drinking, drugs and speeding: Dozens arrested in massive police operation

A massive 12-day operation saw dozens of drivers face consequences after a major police crackdown. Here’s how Mildura drivers fared.

Victoria Police have staged a massive crackdown on driving offences with nearly 100 people booked in Mildura.

Operation Roadwise took place statewide over the 12-day Christmas period and 13,578 infringements were issued, with 100 of those going to drivers across Mildura.

Police handed out 57 speeding, 14 unregistered vehicles and eight unlicensed driver offences across the region.

Police handed out 57 speeding, 14 unregistered vehicles and eight unlicensed driver offences across the region.

Mildura drivers copped fines over Christmas. Picture NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Road Policing Acting Assistant Commissioner Justin Goldsmith labelled these offences as “simply unacceptable

“The fact such a large proportion of these drivers were at least 10km/h over the limit shows this isn’t just an inadvertent mistake,” he said.

“It’s a deliberate, conscious decision, and one that dramatically increases the likelihood of road trauma.”

Over the 12-day operation, there were only five drunk or drug-driving offences in Mildura.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Goldsmith said it was encouraging to see a decline in drunk and drug-driving offences.

“Some encouragement is the correction we’ve started to see in alcohol detections off the back of some really troubling impairment figures during the pandemic,” he said.

“We’ll continue to strongly enforce in this area, as well as clamping down on drug drivers whose behaviour contributes enormous harm and heartache.”