Victoria Police will saturate holiday hot spots, regional highways and city roads as part of a four-day blitz to take dangerous, distracted and impaired drivers off our roads.
Minister for Police Lisa Neville today joined Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer to launch Operation Arid, the state’s four-day operation to target speeding, drink and drug driving, failure to wear a seatbelt, fatigue and distraction.
The Labour Day weekend road policing operation will run from March 9 to 12, commencing on Friday after midnight.
While police will be out in force across the state -- five priority areas including Melbourne, Bendigo, Casey and Dandenong, Ballarat and the Mornington Peninsula have been identified.
Local members will be supported by the specialist resources including the Highway Patrol, Heavy Vehicle Unit, the Solo Unit motorcycles and the Operations Response Unit.
Police will deploy alcohol and drug buses across both metropolitan and regional Victoria across the four-day operation.
The Andrews Labor Government has funded a fleet of 10 new alcohol and drug buses which will soon begin to roll-out state-wide.
The state-of-the-art buses will give police greater flexibility in targeting locations across regional Victoria, meaning they can target more areas, more often.
Last year police conducted 134,000 breath tests and 2,700 drug tests over the Labour Day long weekend.
The Andrews Labor Government has invested $1.1 billion for a package for the Towards Zero strategy, including improving roads and safety infrastructure on metropolitan and regional roads.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Police Lisa Neville
“Our police will be out in force right across the state this long weekend – we want all Victorians to make good choices before they get behind the wheel and arrive safely.”
“We know that without action over the next decade 3,000 people will die on our roads – that’s why we’re boosting police numbers to record levels and investing millions in improving roads across the state.
Reviewed 19 August 2020