Victoria Police launch ‘Operation Furlong’ to target motorists over long weekend

A special police operation will target road users across the upcoming Cup weekend, with this year’s road toll already well above average.

Victoria Police have announced a fresh crackdown on drunk driving and speeding over the Melbourne Cup long weekend as well as a fresh warning for Victorians visiting flood affected towns.

The move – dubbed “Operation Furlong” – comes after police warned the road toll for 2022 has already reached 205 lives lost; 24 more than by the same time last year and significantly higher than the five-year average of 188.

Police said November and December were dangerous for motorists and pedestrians on Victorian roads, with 48 lives lost in 61 days across the two months in 2021, 60 per cent of which they said occurred on rural roads.

Police announced Operation Furlong on Thursday, which they said was designed to target speeding and drunk drivers over the Melbourne Cup long weekend. Picture: Vince Caligiuri /Getty Images

While Tuesday is the official public holiday in Victoria, Police said they were expecting most people to take the Monday off to make it a four-day long weekend.

Police said the operation, which will begin at midnight Thursday and run into the night on Tuesday, would see police “highly visible” on major arterials and freeways.

In a similar operation last year, police handed out 3900 speeding offences and 523 drink driving offences across an eight-day period, they said.

Police at the scene of a crash on La Trobe St, Melbourne in September. Police warned the coming months would prove a particularly dangerous period on Victorian roads. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Meanwhile, Glenn Weir, Assistant Commissioner Road Policing, warned Victorians against travelling to flood affected areas.

“All the emergency services are working hard to respond to the floods, but we don't want to be diverting resources to rescue people that have ignored the warnings and deliberately entered flood waters in their vehicles,” Mr Weir said.

He said the state was entering a high-risk period.

“We’ll be doing everything we can, but with police resources also supporting the flood efforts, we need people to take responsibility for their actions on the roads now more than ever.”

Originally published as Victoria Police launch ‘Operation Furlong’ to target motorists over long weekend