Risky drivers will be caught in biggest ever police operation

18 Nov 2008

MEDIA RELEASE: 18 November 2008

The community has been put on notice that if they undertake any risky driving behaviour, they will get caught in the biggest traffic enforcement operation ever undertaken in Victoria.

“If you undertake risky driving behavior like drink driving, drug driving or speeding, if you’re lucky - you will get caught, if you’re unlucky – someone will get hurt”, said David Healy, Senior Manager Road Safety at the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) at today’s launch.

Significant holiday periods produce higher volumes of traffic on Victoria’s major highways and arterial roads and involve higher risk to the safety of Victorian road users.  In order to reduce road trauma during the Christmas/New Year period, Victoria Police are undertaking a coordinated enforcement operation across the state. 

Operation Aegis will be the largest traffic enforcement operation ever conducted in Victoria, while Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers) is Australia’s biggest traffic operation and involves all of the mainland police jurisdictions.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner (Traffic and Transit Safety) Ken Lay said, “The Christmas period is considered the peak holiday season of the year and a time when people start to wind down, relax and party. But it’s not a time to relax your driving behavior.”

“Police will be conducting two major traffic enforcement initiatives in the lead up to and during the Christmas/New Year period,” said Mr Lay. “There will be more police than ever on the roads this holiday season so if you drink and drive you will get caught, if you drug drive you will get caught and if you speed you will get caught.”

Over the past 4 years, there has been an increasing trend in road trauma during the Christmas and New Year period. In 2007, there were 17 deaths on Victorian roads which was the worst trauma outcome in the nation.

Mr Healy said, “This new TAC campaign seeks to reverse this trend by warning the community that they will get caught if they break the law. Hence it’s a simple message: we will catch you before someone gets hurt.”

The campaign starts tonight and runs for three weeks on TV, radio, outdoor billboards and online. 

The 2008 road toll at midnight on 17 November 2008 stood at 271, compared with 279 at the same time last year.