Mansfield Police reported that overall drivers were well behaved given the amount of traffic on the road during the five-day Nexus Operation over Easter. “I was impressed and pleased that we didn’t see any more road trauma, however 53 penalty notices were issued for a range of offences including speeding, unrestrained passengers, seatbelt offences and breaches of licence conditions,” said Sergeant Paul Barker, officer in charge, Mansfield Highway Patrol. According to Sgt Barker his team conducted more than 700 breath tests during the operation, with no drivers detected to be over the legal limit which he said, “was great to see”. “Over 40 drug tests were also conducted with one person processed for drug driving, receiving an infringement and a six-month loss of licence,” said Sgt Barker. Local police attended two separate motor vehicle collisions in The Pines area on Walshs Rd, near Goughs Bay during the Easter weekend. “The collision attended to by Highway Patrol on the afternoon of Sunday 5 April involved one male rider of an unregistered motorcycle who hit a tree,” Sgt Barker said. “The rider was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, investigations are continuing as to whether alcohol played a part in the collision.” Across the state more than 7,500 traffic offences were detected during the road safety operation as police increased enforcement to reduce road trauma. Operation Nexus ran from April 2 to April 6, with police boosting patrol hours by 19 per cent compared to last Easter. Victoria Police reported the increase in enforcement resulted in a 23 per cent rise in infringements with speeding the most common offence, accounting for almost half of all detections. Tragically, three people lost their lives on Victorian roads during the operation, bringing the state’s road toll to 66 for the year, compared with 81 at the same time last year. Police say enforcement will continue throughout the school holidays. There were three fatalities on Victorian roads during the five-day operational period, including a male pedestrian struck by a vehicle on the Eastern Freeway in Kew East on Saturday morning, a single-vehicle collision in Nulla Vale on Monday evening, and a male motorcyclist in Portland on Monday evening. These fatalities bring the total lives lost on Victorian roads this year to 66, compared to 81 at the same time last year. Police are reminding motorists they will continue to be enforcing anywhere, anytime across the state’s roads, with another major road policing operation to be launched this month.
