More than 7000 offences were detected by Victoria Police during Operation Scoreboard over the AFL Grand Final long weekend.
The five-day, statewide road policing operation saw police targeting high-risk driving behaviour, with a particular focus on speeding, impaired driving, and distraction.
Police also increased their focus on motorcycle safety during the operation following a recent spike in motorcycle trauma, with 238 motorcycle offences detected.
Police detected 224 motorists for drink driving offences from 119,953 preliminary breath tests, and a further 212 drug driving offences from 3,615 roadside drug tests.
A total of 7,466 traffic offences were detected during the operation, with almost 40 per cent of those for speeding.
There were also 377 mobile phone offences detected, and automatic numberplate recognition technology caught 494 motorists for driving whilst disqualified, suspended or unlicenced.
Three lives were lost on Victorian roads during the long weekend operation, with a motorist struck and killed whilst changing a car tyre in Deer Park on Wednesday, and two motorcyclist fatalities in Leopold on Thursday and Gerangamete on Sunday bringing the total number of lives lost to 186 - 26 higher than last year and well above the five-year average of 169.
A summary of offences detected from Operation Scoreboard include:
• 238 motorcycle offences
• 2,881 speeding offences
• 494 unlicensed, disqualified/suspended drivers
• 416 disobey signs/signals
• 377 mobile phone offences
• 224 drink driving offences from 119,953 preliminary breath tests
• 212 drug driving offences from 3,615 roadside drug tests
• 169 seatbelt offences
• 155 vehicle impoundments
• 840 unregistered vehicles
Operation Scoreboard was conducted from 12:01am Wednesday 21 September to 11:59pm Sunday 25 September 2022.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Commissioner Road Policing, Glenn Weir:
"It was a busy weekend across the state's roads as many Victorians made the most of the extended long weekend, enjoying the AFL Grand Final celebrations and the fantastic spring weather.
"Unfortunately, this almost meant a busy weekend for Victoria Police, with our members detecting over 7000 offences over five days during Operation Scoreboard.
"Many of these penalties and infringements could have been avoided if drivers simply slowed down, paid attention to the roads and obeyed the speed limits.
"Almost 500 drivers were detected for driving whilst unlicensed, disqualified or suspended, meaning they shouldn't even be behind the wheel. This blatant disregard for the rules will not be tolerated, and police will continue to utilise ANPR technology to detect and remove unauthorised drivers from the roads.
"Now is not the time to be complacent - we're experiencing high levels of road trauma not seen since well before the pandemic. Police will continue to be on high alert for motorists engaging in risk-taking behaviour that puts other road users in danger.
