Police catch 18 drink drivers in Bendigo during Christmas road blitz

The result has left police disappointed with driver behaviour, during a year when Victoria has recorded its highest road toll since 2010.

The vast majority of offences in Bendigo were for speeding and for using a mobile phone while driving.

In the wider division – covering Echuca to Gisborne, and Wedderburn to Heathcote – police have caught 40 drink drivers since December 16, and a total of 761 traffic offences.

Senior Sergeant Ian Brooks, of Bendigo Highway Patrol, said far too many people were not following the road safety message.

“They seem to think it’s OK to speed. Speeding offences have been unusually high this year,” he said.

“We urge motorists to pay attention to what they’re doing.”

A 45-year-old Flora Hill man was caught with a blood-alcohol reading of 0.078 at 8am on Boxing Day. 

He told police he had drunk 17 cans of beer the day before. He was fined and lost his licence.

Another driver will spend six months off the road after they were caught driving 41 kilometres per hour over the speed limit through roadworks on the Calder Highway at Ravenswood.

The speed limit has been reduced from 100 to 80 km/h.

Senior Sergeant Brooks said drivers were repeatedly ignoring the change in traffic conditions.

“The speed restrictions are in place for a reason,” he said.

“Even if there is no work going on at the moment, the road has still been narrowed and there is concrete on the side of the road.

“It’s disappointing that drivers are choosing to ignore the road rules.”

A number of drivers were caught travelling more than 35 km/h over the limit through the roadworks.

In Bendigo, officers have carried out more than 3500 breath tests and spent a combined 1200 hours patrolling the roads since December 16.

All patrolling units are encouraged to spend time carrying out random breath tests at random locations throughout the city.

There were no collisions causing serious injury in Bendigo during the Christmas period, and one fatality in the wider region – at Runnymede on December 16.

Data for drug users will become available when Operator Roadwise concludes on January 8.