By JESSE GRAHAM
THE first of Victoria Police’s road safety operations has wound up, catching hundreds of drivers breaking the law on Yarra Ranges roads.
Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers) was run across the state from 14 November to 7 December, with Highway Patrols in each Police Service Area (PSA) cracking down on drunk drivers.
In the Yarra Ranges, police charged 32 people with drink driving offences throughout the operation, as well as issuing hundreds of other offences for drivers flouting the law.
Speeding drivers were seen in large numbers over the operation period, with 503 drivers caught, as well as 32 disqualified or suspended drivers, 26 unlicensed drivers and 79 unregistered vehicles detected.
Thirty-four drivers were caught using their mobile phones while driving, while 30 were caught in moving cars without seatbelts and 19 drivers disobeyed traffic signs or signals, such as red lights and stop signs.
Four cars were also impounded in the operation, which was the first out of the four-part Summer Stay campaign being run by Victoria Police around the holiday period.
Talking to the Mail earlier in the month about the campaign, Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol Sergeant John Morgan said he was “astounded” by the amount of drivers using mobile phones behind the wheel.
Sgt Morgan said the penalty for using a mobile phone while driving was a $443 fine and four demerit points, while not wearing a seatbelt results in fines and demerit points for the driver, as well as fines for offending passengers over 16 years old.
“If you’ve got a P-plater who is not wearing a seatbelt and using their phone, they’ve lost their license,” he said.
“My advice for everybody out there is ‘you are not allowed to use your mobile phone at all’.
“You are not allowed to pick it up to look at the time – stick it in your glove box so you won’t be tempted to look at a message at the traffic lights. It’s not worth it.”
Sgt Morgan said that mobile phone use had been linked with higher rates of rear-end collisions and that plain-clothed police in the Yarra Ranges would specifically target phone-using drivers in Operation Watchful.
Operation Breakup began on 8 December, immediately after Operation RAID finished, and will focus on reducing road trauma at the time of many Christmas break-up parties.
Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol was contacted to comment on the Operation RAID results, but did not respond by deadline.
As of Friday 12 December, the road toll stood at 240 – only two road deaths down from 2013’s total toll of 242.
