More than 250 Geelong, Surf Coast motorists caught in the wrong over long weekend

More than 250 Geelong and Surf Coast drivers have suffered the consequences of their poor road behaviours this long weekend.

Victoria Police were left disappointed after detecting 6,500 traffic offenses across the state over the Labour Day long weekend.

Operation Arid ran from 12:01am on Friday 6 March until 11:59pm on Monday 9 March, targeting high risk driver behaviour.

In Geelong, 144 motorists were caught breaking the law, with an additional 108 detected on the Surf Coast.

Among those was a 19-year-old man who was caught travelling 218km/h in a 100km/h zone near Corio on Sunday.

After following him along the Princes Freeway, officers caught the vehicle, which was carrying two passengers, in Avalon.

He was one of 83 speeding drivers caught in Geelong, with another 70 caught in the Surf Coast.

Statewide, Victoria Police conducted 118,000 breath tests, with nine positive results in Geelong and the Surf Coast.

Road policing assistant commissioner, Glenn Weir, said he was disappointed with the number of motorists caught doing the wrong thing.

“We issued thousands of infringement notices, predominately for speeding but we also saw a considerable amount of unauthorised drivers, impaired drivers and drivers caught using mobile phones and devices,” Weir said.

“It is frustrating because the majority of drivers know they are doing the wrong thing, but choose to run the risk anyway – we need this behaviour to stop.

“People might complain about receiving a fine, but the reality is that receiving a penalty is completely avoidable if drivers obey the speed limits and road rules.”

Among those caught in Geelong and the Surf Coast were 26 disobeying road signs, seven disqualified drivers, five unlicensed drivers, 18 unregistered vehicles and 20 alcohol or drug impaired drivers.

There were four fatalities on Victorian roads across the weekend, including the death of a man in Lovely Banks on Monday morning.

Emergency services attended the two-car collision at about 10.10am and were unable to revive him.

His female passenger was taken to hospital with critical injuries. The occupants of the other vehicle were also taken to hospital for treatment.

Police will continue enforcing road laws across March, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous periods on Victorian roads.

“If you blatantly choose to speed or break the rules on our roads, you will be caught – and police make no apologies for this,” Weir said.

“In such a high-risk month for road trauma historically, we are doing all we can to drive down trauma on our roads.”