Operation Tribute detects speeders, mobile phone users and drunk drivers

Operation Tribute was in effect during the Anzac Day period, from April 21 to April 25.

Acting Senior Sergeant at Bendigo Highway Patrol, Mark Street, said there were more than 1500 preliminary breath-tests and 20 drug-detection tests conducted, resulting in 109 penalty notices being issued.

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The fines ranged from speed, mobile phone usage and unregistered vehicles, Acting Senior Sergeant Street said.

Five drunk drivers were detected, including a 60-year-old Epsom woman who recorded a blood alcohol concentration of .224.

"You wonder why we're fighting against the tide and we're getting those fatalities," Acting Senior Sergeant Street said.

"The driving forces behind that is the driving behavior of people that think it's OK to get behind a wheel when they're taken drugs or they've consumed alcohol - certainly in that case, an enormous amount of alcohol.

"She's decided to jump behind the wheel and there's been a collision, thankfully not [fatal]."

Acting Senior Sergeant Street said there was also an unaccompanied learner driver detected, whose vehicle was one of five impounded.

"There's still a lot of work that needs to be done in this area," he said.

"We're trying everything within our resources to keep our road toll down, but we just want the public to understand that they need to be accountable.

"[These are] unacceptable figures for a short amount of time."

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There would be further operations in the coming months, Acting Senior Sergeant Street confirmed, and police would be "very proactive in their approach".

"Drivers are on notice to continue a trend of behavior that's acceptable to everybody in the community," he said.

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