Unfortunately, the detection of 41 unregistered vehicles, 167 speeders, four drink drivers, and eight drug drivers represented a pretty “standard” Easter long weekend on the roads for ACT Policing.
With the “good news” being that no one was fatally harmed, police were concerned by the number of instances of illegal driving detected on ACT roads over the Easter break, from Thursday 1 April to Monday 5 April.
“The best news was that no one died on our roads, again,” ACT Policing Detective Sergeant Bill Evans said.
Of the 167 motorists caught speeding, 14 were exceeding the limit by more than 30km/h.
“A driver was detected travelling 194km/h in an 80 zone on Yarra Glen … that’s just ridiculous,” Detective Sergeant Evans said.
“Another driver detected travelling at 172km/h in an 80 zone on the Monaro Highway … 107km/h in a 60 zone on Caswell Drive.
“If you want to be selfish and do your own thing, go to a racetrack.”
Detective Sergeant Evans said the bulk of the speeding took place along Canberra’s major roads.
“Main arterials are always a problem,” he said, “with lighter traffic, people tend to boost it a bit more, go a bit faster because they think there’s no one around”.
Additionally, 41 unregistered vehicles were detected, of which 29 had no compulsory third party insurance, a “concerning” result for Detective Sergeant Evans.
A total of 68 drug screening tests were administered with eight returning a positive result for a prescribed drug.
“Since we introduced random drug testing, that’s skyrocketed a bit … mainly meth, that’s the main drug of choice for people who choose to drive,” Detective Sergeant Evans said.
Of 1,862 random breath tests conducted, four tested positive; one returning a blood alcohol content reading of 0.159, more than three times the legal limit.
“That’s a good result given the number of tests conducted, but it’s still four too many.”
According to ACT Policing, such results on the roads are “quite similar” to Easter long weekends of previous years.
“Most drivers are doing the right thing, but we are sharing our roads with some people who really just don’t get it.”
For more police news:
