By BRIDGET COOK
POLICE detected more than 120 drivers doing the wrong thing on Casey’s roads over the long weekend during a crackdown aimed at reducing a spike in road trauma.
The Casey area was one of the areas targeted during Operation Arid, which saw police out in force trying to curb the traditional increase of road trauma over the Labor Day weekend.
Casey Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant John Felton said the area was a focus of the operation as it was identified through intelligence analysis as being at risk for road trauma over this weekend based on previous years.
“As such Casey Highway Patrol deployed over the entire long weekend as part of Operation Arid targeting impaired drivers, speeding vehicles and occupant safety,” he said.
Casey police conducted more than 2700 preliminary breath tests and, as a result, removed nine impaired drivers from the roads.
“A further 120 drivers were processed over the weekend for offences including speeding, not wearing seat belts, using mobile phones while driving and being unlicensed or disqualified from driving,” Sen Sgt Felton said.
“Results like this are disappointing and identify for us that we still have much work to do in improving road safety in Casey.”
There was also three injury collisions over the long weekend, compared to five last year and eight recorded in 2012.
“It is always pleasing to see reductions in road trauma especially over weekends which are of concern for us,” Sen Sgt Felton said.
“That said, the three recorded for this year is still three too many.”
