Victoria Police is tired of intercepting drivers who think major arterials can be used as speedways, and as a result is launching a four-day road policing operation to get these hoons off Victorian roads.
As a direct response to the change in road policing environment from coronavirus, the State Highway Patrol, Heavy Vehicle Unit, Solo Unit and Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section will be flooding main arterials in coming days as a part of Operation Sigma.
With vehicles travelling at higher speeds on the freeway network, both lawfully and unlawfully, police will take the opportunity of a concentrated presence to remind drivers of their responsibility behind the wheel.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said reduced volumes of traffic did not give people an excuse to take risks.
“Conditions on the road have changed, and we need drivers to adapt,” AC Murphy said.
“Since coronavirus there has been less traffic on the roads. This has been steadily increasing, but it has not stopped people using our major roads as speedways.
“Drivers have been opportunistic and are utilising the fact that there are not as many of other cars on the road to keep their speed in check.”
Operation Sigma will focus on speed, impaired driving and movements of heavy vehicles.
“While there are less cars on the road, there are the same amount of trucks as before,” AC Murphy said.
“I want to be clear that we are not seeing an increase of truck drivers being at fault for collisions, but we know if a truck is involved in a collision the severity of the crash is generally a lot worse.
“We need drivers to acknowledge the change in road conditions and adapt their behaviour. This means giving enough distance between vehicles, looking ahead and not being distracted.”
The operation will run under a newly adapted model that uses a concentrated police effort as a general deterrence for bad driver behaviour.
The decrease in traffic volume means those who are breaking the law are more obvious to police, and should expect to get caught.
Operation Sigma is a four day operation that will run on Tuesday 2 June, Wednesday 3 June, Wednesday 10 June and Thursday 11 June 2020.
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