By Natalie Gallenti
MORE than 20 drink drivers were last week nabbed as part of Operation RAID.
Sunshine police conducted more than 2500 preliminary breath tests and caught 21 drink-drivers in the first 10 days of the operation.
Twenty disqualified drivers were detected, while 21 unlicensed motorists were caught and more than 30 other offences – including seatbelt and mobile phone offences – were reported. One driver on drugs was also caught in the operation.
More than 950 drink-drivers were caught across the state.
Sgt Rod Stein from Brimbank Traffic Management Unit said drink driving continued to be a big problem and police would be out in force in the lead-up to Christmas.
“The road toll is still a huge problem and it needs to go down,” Sgt Stein said.
“It’s a safety message. We want people safe at home, not picking them up off the road.”
Sgt Stein said the three main causes of accidents were speed, alcohol and fatigue and he called on motorists to devote their concentration to the road.
“Distracting behaviour includes things like using your phone, changing the radio station, looking at a map. You need 110 per cent concentration when driving,” Sgt Stein said.
He said December was traditionally the worst month for road trauma, with an average of 57 deaths each year occurring during the last month of the year.
He warned drivers that police would be out in force in Brimbank and anyone who risked driving while being drunk would be apprehended.
