By Renee Wood
Victoria Police have issued an early warning that they will be out in force this long weekend, maintaining high visibility to ensure drivers are doing the right thing to reduce the risk of road trauma.
Authorities have urged Victorians to be vigilant on the roads and plan ahead, as they expect to see a significant increase in traffic from the ending of restrictions and long weekend festivities.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Road Policing, Glenn Weir, said emergency services have seen spikes in road trauma when lockdowns end in the past two years.
“Victorians have been through a really difficult period over the last eighteen months as Covid has impacted on us. We just really one want to appeal to people to take care, to take your time and just remember that it’s no good surviving everything that we’ve been through in Covid if you get affected by road trauma,” he said.
The major police operation will commence on Friday 29 October targeting speed, fatigue, impairment and distraction.
Safety and planning ahead are the key messages for Victorians, with concerns skills will be a little rusty from a lack of driving during the lockdown.
“Some of us might have lost some of those driving skills, so really there is no rush to get to where you’re going – take your time and consider we will be out there.”
Mr Weir said highly marked cars, general duties police, highway patrol and drug and alcohol testing vehicles will all be part of the operation.
“Expect to be breath tested, expect to be drug tested, expect to speed testers and expect to see lots of police cars on the road. Please don’t be part of the problem, I really appeal to you to be part of the solution.”
The state has already seen a spike in road fatalities in 2021, twelve more people have tragically died on the roads more than last year.
“That’s 190 people whose family and friends will never see them again. We can make sure that doesn’t continue to happen and that we don’t end up with a number a lot higher than last year by all thinking about our driving,” TAC Head of Road Safety Samantha Cockfield said.
Ms Cockfield asked those hitting the roads to start planning now and be aware of how long distance skills may have deteriorated.
“We remind people as they’re traveling around Victoria, that the most important thing you can do is stay safe on the road for yourself and for your loved ones. Things like keeping within the speed limits and making sure that we don’t drive drowsy and that we plan before we going on any long distance drives.”
TAC will be supporting more safety messages throughout the summer through media campaigns and community activations at events.
“If you’re caught by police speeding, drink driving you’re lucky because it means that they caught you before you got yourself injured or somebody else injured or worse.”
