Victoria police detected 180 traffic offences in Melton and 81 in Moorabool over the Easter long weekend as part of Operation Nexus.
The five-day road policing operation saw an increased police presence across the state from 12:01 am on April 6 to 11:59 pm on April 10, in an effort to reduce road trauma.
In the Melton, police detected 62 speeding offences, 43 unregistered vehicles, 15 drug driving offences, three drink driving offences, 14 unlicensed drivers, 13 disqualified drivers and carried out eight impoundments.
In Moorabool, there were 63 speeding offences, five unlicensed drivers, four unregistered vehicles, four offences of disobeying signs/signals, two disqualified drivers, and two impoundments.
Across the state almost 8000 traffic offences were detected with two fatalities following separate single-vehicle collisions.
Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said the amount of detections show a blatant disregard for road rules.
“It is extremely disappointing that we’ve detected almost 8000 motorists in a five-day period for a range of traffic offences,” he said.
“This just shows a blatant disregard for road rules and for the safety of all road users.
“Considering the start to the year we’ve had, we would hope that more people would heed the warnings and make a conscious effort to drive safely.”
More than a third of the 8000 offences detected were for speeding, and mobile phone offences jumped 31 per cent from last year’s Easter policing operation, with 343 mobile phone offences detected.
Assistant Commissioner Weir said risky behaviours such as speed, impaired driving and mobile phone distraction contribute to road trauma.
“Time and time again, it is those behaviours… that are contributing to road trauma, yet we continue to detect thousands of motorists for these offences,” he said.
“Everyone thinks road trauma won’t happen to them, until it’s too late. Don’t let your complacency be the reason for another death or serious injury on our roads.”
Police said they will continue to be active across the state throughout the school holiday period and the unofficial Anzac Day long weekend.
