Police units from a number of jurisdictions combined to provide a more visible presence on the region's roads.

Bendigo Highway Patrol Sergeant Mick McCrann said 58 drivers received infringement notices in the western region of Bendigo, Campaspe, Goldfields and Macedon Ranges police areas on Tuesday as part of the operation.

"At a local level, we conducted in excess of 400 breath tests," he said.

"(Infringement notices) were mostly a result of speed and mobile phone use. We also impounded one car and found one to be unroadworthy.

"In Bendigo, 12 people were found using their mobile phones while driving."

The operation was held following a road policing forum earlier in the year and aimed to educate road users and also highlight this year's increasing road toll.

Sergeant McCrann said the day of increased police presence meant more offences were detected and provided a snapshot of the community's driving habits.

"It's important to have these days to shock people and remind them about road safety," he said.

"Some (drivers we spoke to) were aware of the day but it's hard to comprehend how you can be aware of a highly publicised road campaign but still be using your phone while driving or speeding.

"It shows there are a lot of people out there with really poor driving habits.

"We keep looking for new ways to getting messages across such as being as visible as possible and as open as we can be about what we're doing and unfortunately takes punishment for some people to realise the need to change their driving behaviour."

At a state level, more than 24,500 drivers were breath-tested with more than 2500 traffic offences detected.

Sergeant McCrann said no matter what road infrastructure was put in place, it was still up to drivers to take responsibility on the roads.

"We can't have a wire barrier on every road, traffic lights on every intersection and an interlock in every vehicle. People have to take responsibility," he said.

"It's the impact on others that concerns me the most. It's not just your life - it's your friends, family and colleagues'.

"We see the numbers are out of control but every number is a person that has a family, friends and colleagues that get impacted by (poor driver behaviour) for the sake of one phone call or slowing down."

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