By Alesha Capone
ALMOST 500 drivers were caught breaking the law in Wyndham during a statewide police crackdown across Christmas and the New Year.
Operation Aegis, which was conducted by Victoria Police from 17 December until last Sunday, saw 489 traffic offences committed within Wyndham.
More than 120 vehicles were detected speeding and 54 drivers were caught using mobile phones on the road.
Another 38 drivers were caught for driving while unlicensed, 36 for not wearing seatbelts and 13 for having a higher-than-permitted blood-alcohol reading.
Wyndham had the highest amount of speeding drivers in the West, compared to Maribyrnong at 92, Brimbank 90 and Hobsons Bay 64.
Wyndham also topped the list for mobile phone offences detected in the western suburbs during the 24-day Operation Ageis.
On the second-last day of the crackdown, a 36-year-old female lost her license after she was pulled over in Werribee.
Other drivers raised the alarm, calling Triple-zero after they spotted the woman’s Ford driving “erratically” down the Princes Freeway.
“The early model Falcon had been observed travelling at approximately 40 kilometres per hour in an area sign posted at 100 and was allegedly swerving all over the freeway,” a police statement said.
At around 4.30pm, the woman was intercepted by a police divisional van and she returned a positive preliminary breath test, before going to Werribee for a breath analysis.
The woman blew 0.313 and will be summonsed to court at a later date.
Road Policing Superintendent Neville Taylor said police would still be targeting drivers who did not obey the law during the next 12 months.
“This operation might have come to an end but our focus and emphasis on road safety has not.”
