18 Impaired Drivers Nabbed in SE Road Blitz

Police caught 18 drink and drug drivers during a major road policing operation in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs over the weekend. Operation Corral, which was conducted over Friday and Saturday nights, saw police highly visible and enforcing across roads in the Dandenong and Casey area. The operation involved the Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section, State Highway Patrol and the Solo Unit, utilising booze buses, highway patrol vehicles and police motorcycles to target impaired drivers and high-risk driving behaviour. Over two nights, police conducted 3,382 preliminary breath tests, with 13 drivers caught exceeding the alcohol limit - a strike rate of one in every 260 drivers tested. Notably, State Highway Patrol intercepted a white Land Rover wagon after the driver entered a preliminary breath testing site on Princess Highway at Narre Warren Saturday night around 11:20pm but took off from the site after initially returning an alleged positive breath test. The vehicle was then observed by police travelling at speed on Cranbourne-Narre Warren Road before failing to negotiate a left turn, driving over a concrete median strip and hitting a sign, causing significant damage to the vehicle. Police intercepted the damaged vehicle further along Cranbourne-Narre Warren Road, with the driver, a 40-year-old Berwick male, returned an alleged evidentiary breath test of 0.063. He will be summonsed to court at a later date after being interviewed for failing to remain at the breath testing site and failing to stop offences, as well as exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol and failing to have an interlock fitted to the vehicle, with the vehicle also grounded for major defects. A further five drivers also tested positive for drugs during the operation, with police conducting 167 roadside drug tests - a strike rate of one in every 33 drivers tested. Victoria Police is warning motorists there is a zero tolerance to drink and drug driving, with significant penalties for those who disregard the rules. First time offenders who are fully licenced and over 26 years of age caught with a blood alcohol limit between 0.05 and 0.07 will receive a $627 fine and immediate three-month licence suspension. The penalties increase substantially for those under 26 years of age, those required to have a zero blood or breath alcohol level, those caught for second or subsequent drink driving offences, and those caught over 0.07 or above - including larger fines, longer licence suspensions, alcohol interlocks, attendance at court and even jail time for the most serious offences. Exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs while driving carries a $627 penalty and a six-month licence suspension. Police detected a total 218 offences during Operation Corral on 4 and 5 September, including: 49 speeding offences 20 disqualified / unlicenced / suspended drivers 18 defect notices 16 disobey traffic signs / signals 13 drink driving offences from 3,382 preliminary breath tests 7 impoundments 5 drug driving offences from 167 roadside drug tests 3 mobile phone offences 37 unregistered vehicles Victoria Police will continue to conduct several major road policing operations targeting impaired drivers over the coming months. Motorists should expect to be tested - anywhere, anytime.