Police hit the road for long weekend blitz

By Charlene Macaulay

Speedsters and other drivers flouting the road rules have been put on notice ahead of this long weekend’s road policing blitz.

Westgate Highway Patrol will be among police units across the state to flood major arterial roads in both marked and unmarked cars for Operation Arid, which will run between March 8 to 11.

The operation will target the top-five factors that contribute to road trauma: speed, alcohol or drug impairment, using a mobile phone, fatigue and not wearing seatbelts.

In particular, speed cameras will be set up in known speed and collision hotspots.

Sergeant Marty Wallace from Westgate Highway Patrol said road trauma had a huge ripple effect across the community for not only those involved in accidents but also their family members, emergency services workers attending the scene of crashes and police who have to deliver devastating news to loved ones.

Roadsafe Westgate Community Road Safety Council chairman Jim Giddings added: “It has been demonstrated time after time that speed is a contributing factor in most road crashes.

“Therefore, stay within the speed limit and drive to suit the conditions you face.

“Speeding affects both the risk of a crash happening and the severity of injuries sustained when a crash does happen.”