Operation RoadWise: Speeding drivers, drug drivers criticised by Victorian Police

More than 13,570 traffic offences have been recorded in a massive 12-day police operation.

Drunk driving is slightly lower than last year’s Operation Road Wise Picture: iSTOCK

Motorists who felt the need for speed over the Christmas break have drawn the ire of Victorian Police who have labelled their actions as “simply unacceptable”.

Victorian Police’s Operation Roadwise saw 4803 speeding infringements — and 13,578 offences in total — racked up over the 12-day operation.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Justin Goldsmith said 3753 of those caught were travelling between 10km/h-25km/h over the speed limit.

“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.”

Speeding infringements made up more than a third of the operation’s recorded offences with police left concerned by the sheer number of drug-driving offences as well as illegal phone usage.

The use of drugs while driving was prevalent after the operation returned a hit rate of one in 14 drivers from 5122 roadside tests.

Victoria Police pull over drivers at a roadside drug and alcohol testing site in Southbank, as part of Operation Roadwise in the lead up to Christmas. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

In 2021, one in 17 drivers tested positive for drugs.

During the operation, a police officer was hit, allegedly by a drug affected driver trying to flee a breath test site in Bacchus Marsh.

“Of 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,” Act Comm Goldsmith 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.”

Mobile phone offences increased significantly to 783, compared to 536 last year, as police targeted distracted drivers on the road with daily offences up 13.9 per cent across the operation.

With the motorcycle road toll sitting at 56, police issued 449 traffic offences to motorcyclists — almost a 50 per cent increase on last year.

Improved technology helped Highway Patrols detect an average of 85 disqualified, suspended or unlicensed drivers each day — 1021 in total — while 1442 unregistered vehicles were caught and 301 were impounded.

Two fewer deaths occurred on Victorian roads compared to last year’s operation and police have warned more officers will be on the road over the New Year period.

“We’ll continue doing all we can, so expect to see police out on the roads and in particular those holiday hot spots where we know so many people have chosen to enjoy this summer period,” Act Comm Goldsmith said.

“As we head into the New Year, we’re appealing to drivers to reflect on their habits behind the wheel and use this period as an opportunity to really reset and commit to doing all they can to improve safety not only for themselves but all road users.”