Top cop Glenn Weir’s warning to reckless drivers after horror year
Irresponsible behaviour saw nearly 300 people killed on Victorian roads last year, with police urging motorists to take greater responsibility behind the wheel.
Police & Courts
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Top road cop Glenn Weir has blamed needless risk taking for the state’s 15-year high traffic fatalities and unapologetically vowed to be in motorist’s faces this year to stop the carnage.
Exasperated Assistant Commissioner Weir said drivers were “pushing the envelope into recklessness” and had become so blasé about following road rules that police had been forced into overhauling its operations for the year ahead.
“Such a significant amount of the trauma we saw last year was through single acts of noncompliance,” he said.
“Not stopping at a stop sign, running a red light, a little bit over 0.5, a little bit over the speed limit … but they all have lifetime impacts on so many people.”
He added: “As a community, we cannot accept this level of trauma that we saw last year. We can never accept that this behaviour is normal. We have to remember that behind the data are people, people with families.”
There were 299 lives lost on Victorian roads last year – the highest since 2008 – and it shows no sign of abating with 19 people dying in crashes already this year.
Mr Weir, a 43-year veteran of the force, said behaviour on our roads was now so bad it was “frightening”.
“It’s indicative of broader risk taking behaviour that we’ve seen in the community. But it just seems to me that people are pushing the envelope into recklessness.
“We are seeing more of it and when it plays out on the road, risk-taking behaviour can have severe consequences and that’s exactly what we are seeing.”
Mr Weir revealed police would be more visible this year, will be getting 2000 new preliminary breath testing devices, conducting more alcohol tests than ever before and adding dangerous drivers to a database linked to Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras in cop cars.
“We will be doing things differently,” he said.
“Currently we rely on intelligence led tasking. We will enhance this with a visible presence and more operations around drink and drug driving.
“I’m really keen this year that we will provide a greater level of general deterrence by being visible.
“We have really got to try and influence more of the motoring public by being seen. We will see, particularly on weekends, increased visible police presence on major arterial roads in and around the metro area and regional Victoria.
“Now that might not always necessarily be where the trauma is, but it is where the public will be and we want that impact of people knowing they can be detected anywhere, anytime.”
He added for every 400 breath tests they did, the average was to catch one drink driver. But in an operation on the Monash Freeway at the end of last year, they were catching one drink driver in every 72 tests.
And drivers killed with drugs in their system accounted for 20 per cent of all deaths last year – almost twice the amount as alcohol.
“It’s frightening,” he said.
“We’ve seen a change in behaviour on the road and it is just so bad.
“And that’s at the back end of a year that has seen the highest trauma in 15 years. But that’s what we are seeing. People are still taking those risks. There’s a disconnect between people understanding the risk that they are taking and thinking it won’t happen to them.”
He said one of the biggest investments was in ANPR technology.
Victoria Police are adding more and more dangerous motorists to a “hotlist” database. When the cameras detect an unauthorised or drink driver, it pings, alerting officers.
Mr Weir said it was far more likely people who had previously shown to take risk-taking behaviour would be targeted and pulled over.
He also supported more speed cameras being rolled out by the state government as “speed was still the number one cause of death on our roads.”
“We are getting smart vehicles, we are creating smart roads, there are increases in technology all the time, the only thing we haven’t done is make smart drivers,” he said.
“We can advance technology in terms of infrastructure, vehicles, how vehicles talk to infrastructure on the roads, there’s advancement in vehicle technology but we don’t seem to advance drivers. And the human component is the one thing that everyone can improve because it doesn’t cost anything.
“You can control your own safety to a large degree. Ten per cent of fatalities last year were people not wearing a seatbelt. It’s just the most simple thing to do.”
He added: “We are part of the solution for road safety. But the biggest part of the solution is the community itself.
“The ability for people to help us keep themselves safe is something that I’m really asking for.
“If the community can’t learn a lesson on the back of last year then it’s never going to happen.
“Don’t think it can’t or won’t happen to you or one of your family because all it takes is a single act of noncompliance. It can happen and it did happen to almost 300 families last year.”
Non-compliance
– Single acts of noncompliance was a factor in 59% of collisions
– Extreme noncompliance (person at fault committing two or more illegal actions) was a factor in 23% of collisions
Full breakdown
– Excessive or inappropriate speed was a factor in 25% of collisions
– Drug driving occurred in 20% of collisions
– Unauthorised driving (unlicensed, disqualified, suspended) occurred in 15% of collisions
– Drink driving occurred in 11% of collisions
– Seatbelts not worn by one or more occupants in 10% of collisions
Long weekend road blitz
Victoria Police will formally launch Operation Amity on Thursday in a bid to thwart roadside trauma this Australia Day long weekend.
Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said it was preparing for a “perfect storm” of trouble with lots of people on the roads, a combination of wet and hot weather and children returning to school.
“With the return of school next week, police are cautioning all road users to prepare for an influx of traffic as many Victorians hit the road for the last long weekend of the January holiday period,” Mr Weir said
“Speeding drivers will be a major focus for police during the operation, with excessive or inappropriate speed contributing to a quarter of all fatal collisions in 2023.
“There will also be zero tolerance for drink and drug driving over the long weekend. Motorists should expect to be tested at one of many alcohol and drug testing sites operating across the state,” he added.
Police said with roads expected to be extremely busy, it urged motorists to avoid rushing by allowing plenty of extra travel time.
During last year’s Operation Amity over five days, police conducted 114,973 preliminary breath tests and 2,730 roadside drug tests, with 225 drink drivers and 198 drug drivers detected.
The statewide operation will run until Monday.
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