Operation Sigma targets ‘idiot’ leadfoots taking advantage of light traffic

Leadfoot drivers who blame their dangerous driving on trips to get their eyelashes tinted or visit their mum will be targeted in a statewide police operation.

'Idiot' speedsters blaming dangerous driving on trips to get their eyelashes tinted or visit their mum, will be targeted in a new police blitz on Melbourne's freeways. 

From today,  Operation Sigma will be rolled out over four days in the next fortnight to respond to drivers using freeways as speedways during quieter conditions because of coronavirus restrictions. 

State Highway Patrol, Heavy Vehicle Unit, Solo Unit and Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section police will patrol major freeways as part of the operation.

Speeding,  impaired driving and movements of heavy vehicles will be targeted. 

Operation Sigma will begin today and continue Wednesday 3 June, Wednesday 10 June and Thursday 11 June.

Last month the Herald Sun reported drivers were travelling above 145kmh were causing particular alarm with police, while the number of fines for unlicensed driving has doubled.

Police intelligence provided to the Herald Sun shows the frequency of drivers caught speeding has surged 30 per cent compared with the same time last year.

The number of high-range leadfoots has increased steadily since late February even though there’s less traffic.

“It’s actually a choice that these drivers are making to speed,’’ road policing command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said.

“It’s a blatant disregard for the law and it’s just selfish ­behaviour and selfish choices that are putting other road users at risk. They continue to make poor choices and are ­idiots.”

Motorways like the Eastern Freeway have become hotspot for speedsters.

Monash Fwy, Tullamarine Fwy, M80 Ring Rd and Hume Fwy were hot spots.

A 28-year-old woman was nabbed driving at 140kmh in a 80kmh zone at Keilor. She told police she was on her way to get her eyelashes tinted.

A 28-year-old man driving at 200kmh in a 100kmh zone at Strathmore tested positive for drugs.

A 48-year-old man was clocked at 175kmh in an 80kmh zone at Gladstone Park, while a 21-year-old ­motorist nabbed at 183kmh on the Princes Fwy at Tynong North said he was on the way to visit his mother.

A 45-year-old motorcyclist without protective gear travelling at 180kmh in a 100kmh zone on the Metropolitan Ring Rd also stunned police.

“A lot of speeding has been going on and because there is no longer peak-hour traffic. Those who are out and about are unfortunately exceeding the speed limit,’’ a police sergeant in Melbourne’s outer east told the Herald Sun.

“I have a desk full of penalty notices to prove it.”

Speeding has surged by a whopping 30 per cent compared with the same time last year.

Ms Murphy said speed was a factor in almost a third of road deaths this year.

Drivers who put lives at risk faced not only fines and loss of their cars and licences but up to 10 years’ jail.

Ms Murphy said enforcement, including drug and ­alcohol testing, would be a huge focus as traffic returned over the coming weeks.

“People need to look ­inwardly about the choices they are making and not rely on the fact they’re not going to get caught by police because they will,” she said.

“It is people making ­conscious choices to break the law.

“You are head to foot making a choice to press that pedal harder.”

Fines to unlicensed drivers more than doubled between late February and April compared with earlier in the year.

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