A giant effort by members of Prahran Highway Patrol has resulted in a number of offences being detected as part of Operation Argus.
Officers concentrated on traffic travelling in both directions along Punt Road from 10.30am till 3pm this afternoon.
Police issued 43 penalty notices for mobile phone offences, 6 for seat belt offences, 3 unregistered vehicles and 5 other offences.
Police also impounded the car of a 24-year-old Beaconsfield man who was initially stopped for using a mobile phone while driving.
The car was found to be unregistered, he was an alleged suspended driver and drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in the car.
The driver was arrested and taken to a police station for interview.
A 38-year-old man from Melton also had his car impounded after he too was found on a mobile phone.
Police also allegedly found drugs in the vehicle and the driver failed an oral fluid drug test.
Acting Sergeant Justin Kelly said that it was disappointing that people continued to use their phones while driving.
“This is a widely publicised law and is in place to ensure all road users are paying attention to what’s going on around them whilst they are driving” he said.
“The areas we blitz are pedestrian and cyclist dense, and it only takes a moment of inattention to cause a collision that can take a life. In fact, this same mentality applies on our faster urban roads as well as our rural high speed roads.”
“We just want people to give all their focus to their driving.”
This operation is a part of the Operation Argus, which focuses on impaired driving, motorcycles, excessive speed, driver distraction and not wearing seatbelts.
The state-wide operation will run for four days from 12.01am, Thursday 5 September to 11.59pm, Sunday 8 September.
