Racegoers and businesses have been commended on their behaviour in the wake of this year's Bathurst 1000, however speeding offences remain a concern following the four-day operation.
Operation Bathurst 2020 – a high visibility operation targeting traffic offences and antisocial behaviour at this year's Bathurst 1000 – commenced on Thursday (15 October 2020) and concluded yesterday (Sunday 18 October 2020).
Throughout the operation police conducted 140 business inspections, 2,110 random breath tests, detected 134 exceed speed limit offences and issued 125 traffic penalty notices.
Western Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie, praised the efforts of local businesses who complied with currently Public Health Orders and the behaviour of racegoers who displayed very little antisocial behaviour.
"We did a massive push around Bathurst and the venue itself, there was one warning delivered and that warning was quickly rectified so congratulations to all the licensees in Bathurst and the operators of the Supercars licensing events as well – it all went very smoothly and we're very thankful for that," AC McKechnie said.
However, as in previous years, speeding offences remain a concern.
"Traffic was the main focus for us with a lot of traffic moving through the central west and to and from Bathurst," AC McKechnie said.
"We issued 134 Traffic Infringement Notices for speeding offences so there are still a lot of people not getting the message about road safety.
"We're out there every weekend doing the same type of traffic operations across regional NSW so if you speed there is a fair chance you're going to get caught."
As motorists begin to leave Bathurst today, police urge those travelling to be safe and plan your trip.
"The event was obviously very successful in how it ran on TV, but we look forward to next year hopefully getting back to some sense of normality," AC McKechnie said.
Items of interest:
- About 5pm on Friday (16 October 2020), officers attached to Operation Bathurst 2020 were patrolling east on the Mitchell Highway near Molong when they detected a grey Ford utility travelling in excess of the speed limit. Police will allege the vehicle was detected travelling at 139km/h in a 100km/h sign posted zone. Police indicated for the Ford to stop, however it continued on the highway and out of sight of police. About 6.15am on Saturday (17 October 2020), police were patrolling the Molong area when they located the vehicle at a business in Molong. The driver, a man aged 30, was issued with a penalty notice for exceeding the speed limit. Police are awaiting results of analysis.
- About 6.45am yesterday (Sunday 18 October 2020), police were patrolling the Lachlan Valley Way near Godfrey Creek when they detected a white Volkswagen van travelling 30km/h above the 100km/h sign posted limit. Police conducted a random drug test which returned a positive reading. The man was taken to Cowra Police Station where he returned a positive secondary test to methamphetamines. He was issued a 24-hour licence prohibition, and speed infringement notice.
