Speeding drivers made up more than 60 per cent of offences detected by police in Melton and Moorabool during a four-day statewide road policing operation on the January 26 long weekend.
Operation Amity involved a highly visible police presence on Victorian roads and highways in an effort to reduce road trauma.
Police detected 2,261 speeding offences across the state, with 75 occurring in Melton and Moorabool.
A total of 5,206 traffic offences were detected during Operation Amity, with 118 detected locally.
In Melton and Moorabool police caught 16 unregistered vehicles, six disqualified drivers and five drunk drivers.
Road Policing assistant commissioner Glenn Weir said despite police warnings, they continue to detect a concerningly high number of motorists for speeding during these long weekend operations.
“Most speed detections are for low to mid-range speeding, which suggests to us that many motorists think it’s acceptable to travel just a little bit over the speed limit,” he said.
“What many motorists don’t seem to grasp is that speeding continues to be the leading cause of serious injury and fatal collisions – a quarter of last year’s fatal collisions were as a result of speed.
“Any form of excessive or inappropriate speed, whether it be 5km/h to 25km/h over the limit, significantly increases the likelihood of being involved in a collision.
With the return of school this week, police are urging motorists to adhere to the 40km/h speed limit in school zones.
Assistant Commissioner Weir said reduced speeds will be actively enforced.
“We need people to stop being reckless and speeding unnecessarily to get to your destination faster – you’d rather arrive five or 10 minutes late, than not at all,” he said.
