Sergeant Nigel Atkins flicks through the hundreds of fines issued to motorists over the Queen’s Birthday
By Jade Lawton
CARDINIA police issued almost 400 fines to speedsters, drunks and unlicensed drivers over the long weekend.
The Queen’s Birthday shocker saw police nab more than 10 times the average number of weekend traffic offences on our roads.
Sergeant Nigel Atkins, of Cardinia’s Traffic Management Unit, said police worked round the clock to keep local roads safe as part of the state-wide Operation Aegis VIII.
“It is dead easy to die on the roads – it’s keeping on living, with appropriate safety practices in mind, that appears hard for some people,” Sgt Atkins said.
“This large pile of tickets is the direct result of drivers’ misdemeanours in just four days of enforcement. We will not relent or make any allowances for excuses.”
The worst offender was a 25-year-old Blackburn woman, on her probationary licence, caught travelling at 143 km/h on the Pakenham Bypass.
“Believe it or not, she was laughing when she was pulled up. She thought it was a joke. But she didn’t think it was a joke when she lost her licence,” Sgt Atkins said.
In total, 248 drivers were fined for exceeding the speed limit, including six speeding by more than 25km/h.
Police also caught four disqualified drivers, seven driving without a licence, and 11 unregistered cars. Nineteen vehicles were put off the road with a defect notice.
A huge 1880 motorists were breath-tested in the Cardinia Shire, with two blowing more than 0.05.
Some offenders were locals, while many were out-of-towners driving through the shire to holiday destinations.
Sgt Atkins said the high police presence most likely contributed to the safe weekend on Cardinia Shire roads, with no serious crashes reported.
“The guys were very committed and nobody had days off, so we were able to roster 100 per cent of our resources on the roads,” Sgt Atkins said.
The Cardinia Shire road toll stands at four, one more than this time last year.
