Over 600 people were caught not wearing seatbelts this double demerit long weekend as Operation Tortoise, part of a two-week traffic blitz on the State’s roads, concluded overnight. Two people died in fatal crashes, down from three people last Easter (2013), while 619 major crashes (down 40 from last year – 659 in 2013) resulted in 185 people being injured (down 40 from last year – 225 in 2013). About 5.30pm yesterday (Monday 21 April 2014), Holbrook Highway Patrol were conducting speed enforcement on the Hume Highway at Little Billabong, when they allegedly detected a white VW sedan travelling at 134kph in the 110kph speed zone. The vehicle was stopped by police where the driver allegedly provided false details to officers, who also observed three passengers in the vehicle without seatbelts on. The 20-year-old man was issued with infringement notices for exceeding the speed limit by more than 20kph, stating false name/address, driving with three unrestrained passengers and having an unregistered and uninsured vehicle. NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said while most drivers did the right thing on the roads this Easter, some blatantly put others at risk. “This long weekend we saw everything on our roads from drivers trying to evade breath-testing sites, to passengers not wearing seatbelts and drivers under the influence,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said. “It is astounding some motorists continue with this kind of behaviour when we have more police on the roads, not to mention double demerits. “We saw two people die on our roads this Easter, down from three deaths last year, however this is still two too many. “We are dedicated to driving down the road toll and the public can be assured we will continue to be out there this week as we get set for the Anzac Day holiday,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said. Over the five day operation, officers conducted 294421 breath tests and charged 369 people with drink-driving, while 623 infringements were issued for seatbelt offences. Police caught 5184 people allegedly speeding over the five day period, and issued 7418 other infringements. Operation ‘Go Slow,’ the Anzac Day long weekend road campaign, starts at 12.01am on Thursday 24 April and continues until 11.59pm on Sunday 27 April 2014. Double demerits will be in force for speeding, seatbelt, and motorcycle helmet offences.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 04:28:54 +0000
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