Racegoers have been commended on their behaviour in the wake of this year's Bathurst 500, however speeding offences remain a concern following the four-day operation.
Operation Bathurst 500 2021 – a high visibility operation targeting traffic offences and antisocial behaviour at the launch of the Supercars Championship – commenced on Friday (26 February 2021) and concluded yesterday (Monday 1 March 2021).
Throughout the operation police conducted 4214 random breath tests, 933 roadside drug tests, and issued 205 infringements for speeding offences 304 infringements for other traffic offences.
Operation Commander, Detective Superintendent Peter O'Brien APM, praised the behaviour of racegoers who displayed very little antisocial behaviour.
"Overall the crowd was very well behaved across the weekend, we had only a small amount of arrests for minor issues," Det Supt O'Brien said.
"On the roads we issued 205 traffic infringement notices for speeding offences, so there are still a lot of people not getting the message.
"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," Det Supt O'Brien said.
Items of interest from Operation Bathurst 500 2021:
• About 6.35pm on Friday (26 February 2021), a man driving on Bonnor Street, Kelso, was subjected to a roadside breath test which returned a positive result. The 29-year-old was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station where a breath analysis returned an alleged reading of 0.085. He was charged with drive with middle range PCA and will appear at Bathurst Local Court on Monday 8 March 2021. His licence was suspended.
• About 9.20am on Saturday (27 February 2021), a P-plate driver was subjected to a roadside drug test on Glenroi Avenue, Orange. He was arrested and taken to Orange Police Station and was subjected to a secondary oral test that has been sent for analysis. The man was issued a 24h notice, prohibiting him from driving. About 11.30am, the same driver, a 38-year-old man, was subjected to a second roadside drug test on Adina Crescent. He was arrested and taken to Orange Police Station where he refused to undergo a secondary oral test. The Dubbo man was charged with two counts of fail or refuse to comply with prohibition or requirement and refuse secondary oral fluid test. He was given conditional bail to appear at Bathurst Local Court on Monday 19 April 2021.
• About 7.05pm on Sunday (28 February 2021), police and emergency services responded to reports of a single-vehicle crash on Mount Lofty Road, Nashdale. No one was injured. The driver, a 27-year-old man, was subjected to a roadside breath test, returning a positive result. He was arrested and a subsequent breath analysis returned an alleged reading of 0.079. He was charged with drive with low range PCA and will appear at Orange Local Court on Monday 15 March 2021.
