By Mitchell Clarke
Despite a highly visible police presence over Operation Argus, a number of motorists across the Cardinia and Casey municipalities were complicit in engaging in risky driving behaviour.
The operation was set up as a direct response to the significant number of people who had died on our roads this year but sadly, five more people became a statistic during the operation, increasing this year’s road toll to 197.
While there were no fatalities in Cardinia, Senior Sergeant Dave Yeoman said it was disappointing to see these kinds of results from the Casey/Cardinia police service areas (PSAs), especially the number of drug drivers detected.
“Police provided a highly visible presence across the area in the hope of making motorists think twice about their behaviour,” S/Sgt Yeoman said.
“However we still saw far too many people taking risks on the roads by speeding or driving while affected by drugs and alcohol.”
Operation Argus targeted the main causes of road trauma, including driver impairment, fatigue, speeding, distraction and seatbelt offences.
Across both municipalities, four drink drivers and 10 drug drivers were nabbed while 17 disqualified drivers and 18 unlicensed drivers were caught.
Over 180 vehicles were detected speeding while 11 people were found to be driving while on their mobile phones.
Senior Sergeant Yeoman said while this operation may have finished, Victoria Police’s focus on road safety continues.
“The number of lives lost so far this year is concerning and shows we cannot afford to be complacent about safety on our roads,” S/Sgt Yeoman said.
“Reducing road trauma is everyone’s responsibility – this starts with the driver driving to the road rules.”
The operation ran from 12.01am Thursday 5 September to 11.59 Sunday 8 September.
