By Kyra Gillespie
Police have dismissed media reports that members of Cardinia Highway Patrol were nabbing drivers fleeing bushfire-affected areas over the weekend.
One motorist named Terry told 3AW he was pulled over eight kilometres out of Dargo, where a bushfire is raging, for driving 8km/h over the speed limit.
Another caller said he knew of a man who was stopped by police for driving an unregistered truck and trailer which was fully loaded horses rescued from the fires.
“Police are aware of reports of driver received infringements while leaving fire-affected areas,” a post on Cardinia Eyewatch reads.
“Police are investigating and at this stage have not found any truth to these reports.”
The reports sparked furore on social media.
One Facebook user asked, “What’s more important – actual crime or people fleeing fires?”
“Nothing but revenue raising in the middle of a crisis,” another said.
Others came to the defence of police.
“Police have 100 more important things to do than sit in an office filling out a stack of paperwork to ‘build revenue’,” another replied.
“Should people be speeding in very dangerous conditions with lots of people on the road? What happens if an accident occurs and the road then gets blocked off?” Another asked.
When asked if members were patrolling areas around the Bunyip State Park fire, a local officer assured the Gazette that while they were not “ignoring offences” but that “most people here have a common sense approach.”
“Obviously no-one from Cardinia Highway Patrol are out booking someone in Dargo – 200 kilometres away,” the Cardinia Highway Patrol member said.
“However we are still out enforcing traffic rules and ensuring people are driving safely.”
