‘STOP EVERYONE’: Police to test every driver on Warrego Hwy
EVERY motorists travelling along the Warrego Hwy are set to be drug and alcohol tested and have their vehicles inspected over three days.
Chinchilla
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THOUSANDS of motorists are set to be drug and alcohol tested on the Warrego Highway as police set up along the busy thoroughfare in one of the largest Road Safety Week operations ever seen in the region.
All vehicles travelling along the Warrego Hwy will be funnelled through a static roadside testing operation in the town of Brigalow, a strategic location chosen by police.
Chinchilla police senior constable James Leahy said the three-day operation will target defective vehicles, and drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
"We will be shutting down the main street, the highway in both directions will be closed," snr const Leahy said.
Police are beyond frustrated as a spike in our road toll has claimed the lives of 161 Queenslanders- a number that towers over the 136 lives lost on our roads in the same period last year.
Of last year's 219 lives lost on Queensland roads, 93 people died in crashes that involved drugs or alcohol, while 50 deaths involved speeding.
Even more shocking was the number of people who died as a direct result of not buckling up.
27 of the 219 lives lost in last year's road crashes could ultimately have been saved, had the people involved been wearing a seatbelt.
Snr const Leahy said police hope the operation will catch dangerous drivers who are putting their lives and the lives of others at risk.
"We will be stopping everyone," snr const Leahy said.
"This week is about targeting road related offences in an effort to put downward pressure on the states road toll, and the significant impact that the result of a fatal car crash has on the surviving members of the family of the deceased.
"While the impact on infrastructure is a concern, the ongoing psychological cost to individuals, the community and the attending police officers is what is most concerning."
The main street of Brigalow on the Warrego Hwy will be cordoned off by police from today, until Sunday, August 30.
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