BENDIGO drivers contributed to the best holiday weekends on the roads police have seen in a long while, officers say.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Highway Patrol's Senior Sergeant Ian Brooks said the region avoided fatalities and serious injury collisions over the weekend.
Police detected 348 offences across the Bendigo division, including 17 drunk drivers.
Officers performed nearly 600 preliminary breath tests.
Senior Sergeant Brooks said traffic was the heaviest many patrol units had seen in quite a while.
But he said the weekend everyone prayed for had happened.
"We had no fatalities and so serious injury collision in our area, which is pretty much what we hope for every day," Senior Sergeant Brooks said.
"Everyone got home safely, which was very, very important to us."
Senior Sergeant Brooks said it was one of the better behaved holiday weekends he'd seen in a long while.
"It's really pleasing to see, it means that hopefully the messages are getting out there," he said.
"We have achieved something ... us and the community have proven that we can go over a busy period, when people have just been released from lockdown, and they can behave themselves, and we don't have to all drive like idiots."
Senior Sergeant Brooks urged people to check their cars before driving long distances, as eased restrictions allowed greater travel.
He said drivers should check they were mentally and physically prepared to drive long distances, and take stops along the way.
Senior Sergeant Brooks said police had seen an increase in minor bingles around Bendigo in the past few weeks. Some were due to distraction, others came from inattention after people had not driven for a few month, he said.
He urged drivers to stay safe as restrictions continued to ease.
"We know that there'll be a review on the current restrictions at the end of the month. I imagine if we continue the downward trend to the curve that's happening, some of those restrictions may move, may list," Senior Sergeant Brooks said.
"This is not a free-for-all."
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.