Police have issued more than 100 infringement notices for numerous driving offences across the Surf Coast and Colac regions during an operation targeting day trippers from Melbourne, which wrapped up on Sunday.
The three-week operation focused on reducing serious road trauma amid an influx of traffic on regional roads as Melbourne’s travel restrictions eased.
Geelong and Colac Highway Patrol officers, with support from uniform police, issued a total of 124 infringement notices between Friday 22 October until Sunday 14 November, including 77 for speeding – an average of around three speeding drivers per day.
On one occasion, police pulled over an 18-year-old man from Grovedale who had allegedly been travelling at 172km/h in a 100km/h zone along Surf Coast Highway, Torquay with three passengers on board.
They also stopped a 34-year-old man from Point Cook who was allegedly travelling at 122km/h in an 80km/h zone on Great Ocean Road, Bellbrae with two infants and a woman on board.
Police caught two drivers who were allegedly under the influence of drugs, including a 42-year-old man from Curlewis and a 34-year-old man from Sunshine.
Other offences included, driving while using a mobile phone, driving an unregistered vehicle, driving while not wearing a seatbelt and driving while suspended.
Police conducted 168 Preliminary Roadside Breath Tests but no one returned a positive result.
The road safety blitz comes as the state’s road toll hits 207 lives lost compared to 188 at the same time last year.
