By NICOLE VALICEK
POLICE in Hobsons Bay will target the five contributing factors to road trauma in a state-wide operation over the Labour Day Long Weekend.
Operation Arid will run over the Labour Day Long Weekend, from 15 to 17 March, with a focus around issues relevant to local areas.
Hobsons Bay road policing adviser Senior Sergeant Damien Madden said the aim of the operation was to increase driver awareness and journey planning while reducing road trauma.
“Intelligence assessments have identified the top 10 high trauma locations which will receive extra focus by state and local policing resources,” he said.
“Thankfully Hobsons Bay and the surrounding local government areas are not within these high trauma locations.”
“All local highway patrol resources from Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong and Wyndham will be deployed across the division targeting the five contributing factors to road trauma being speed, impairment, distraction, fatigue and seatbelts.”
Snr Sgt Madden said the operation aims to provide a sustained and highly visible police presence on Victorian roads.
“(It also aims to) apply a balance of enforcement and deterrence to those who engage in irresponsible or dangerous road-user behaviour.”
He said a new card recently produced debunked five common myths on speeding in an effort to get motorists to slow down.
One myth on the card reads: “going a little over the speed limit is not a risk”, while the fact states “if all drivers dropped 1km/h off their average speed we could see a five per cent reduction in road trauma or 15 lives saved each year.”
