VICTORIA. — During the six-day statewide Operation Furlong over the Melbourne Cup long weekend, almost 9000 traffic offences were detected by Victoria Police during the road policing blitz that focused on enforcing speed limits, as well as roadside alcohol and drug testing.
One in every 487 drivers who were breath tested were caught over the legal blood alcohol limit, with 337 drink-driving offences detected from 164,170 preliminary breath tests.
Included among the offenders was a 34-year-old man from Frankston South who allegedly returned a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) reading of 0.261 per cent, more than five times the legal limit, when he was stopped in Tyabb on Wednesday, November 4.
This resulted in an immediate loss of his driver’s licence for 12 months, his vehicle impounded for 30 days and a future date with the magistrate.
A further 220 drug-driving offences were detected from 3398 roadside drug tests – a strike rate of one in every 15 drivers testing positive to drugs.
With the summer months on the horizon, Police urge motorists to stay vigilant behind the wheel by sticking to speed limits, taking plenty of breaks on long trips, and avoiding distractions like using mobile phones while driving.
Operation Furlong ran from 12:01am on Friday, October 30 to 11:59pm on Wednesday, November 4.
