Police are committed to ending the carnage on Victorian roads as the lives lost count continues to climb by one a day.
As motorists take to the road for the Easter long weekend Victoria Police urges drivers to stay alert and be patient when leaving metropolitan areas.
The plea comes as Operation Nexus, a five day high visibility road policing operation, commences across the state in high priority areas and popular holiday destinations.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane said if the community continues to drive the way they are, we will see lives lost on the road this Easter.
“Easter is a great time for people to take a well-earned break with family and friends, but with those extra few days off it presents opportunity for people to drive a little further in distance and on unfamiliar roads,” AC Leane said.
“With 75 per cent of our lives lost this year being made up of country road users and motorcyclists we cannot stress enough the importance in slowing down, driving to the conditions and taking that 15 minute break.
“Not arriving at your destination isn’t worth the five minutes in time you gain from speeding or not driving to the conditions.”
Police will have a visible presence on the highways, backstreets and off-road locations in the hope that motorists think twice about their behaviour.
Assistant Commissioner Leane said the Easter long weekend falls in the middle of Operation Kinetic, which involves an extra 300 police shifts Victorian roads between March and May to combat road trauma.
“We have police out around the clock trying to deter the bad driver behaviours we are seeing all too frequently,” AC Leane said.
“It is proven that police visibility and enforcement acts as a deterrent but we also need the community to take some ownership and reflect on their driving habits.
“We cannot do this without the support of the community. Police cannot be everywhere, but hopefully we are where you least expect us.”
The state-wide operation will focus on country road users, speed, impaired drivers, seatbelts, on and off road motorcycles, fatigue due to long distance travel and driver distraction through mobile technology and navigation devices.
Priority areas include traffic corridors that link metropolitan areas to popular holiday destinations such as the Grampians, Surf Coast, Great Ocean Road, Greater Shepparton Area, Phillip Island, Bass Coast, South Gippsland, Baw Baw and La Trobe.
Operation Nexus will run from 12.01am Thursday 18 April to 11.59pm Monday 22 April 2019.
