Victoria Police has made public the local statistics from their recent Christmas road safety blitz.
In total, 243 offences were detected in the Ballarat service area as part of Operation Roadwise, which ran from December 18th to January 1st.
Speeding was the most-common offence recorded, with 130 drivers being handed fines.
That includes one driver, aged 20 allegedly detected travelling at 112km/h along Sturt Street, resulting in a Ford Falcon sedan being impounded for 30 days.
In another instance, a Honda Jazz was reportedly clocked travelling at 141 km/h on the Western Highway near Beaufort.
After being pulled over, police say the female driver returned a blood-alcohol reading of .159 – three times the legal limit.
She was one of 19 drink-drivers caught as part of the Operation.
Among the other offences detected over the two-week period were:
- nine drug-affected drivers
- 13 disqualified drivers
- 10 unlicensed drivers
- 37 unregistered vehicles
- 14 impoundments
Meantime, further south, members of the Ballarat Highway Patrol unit nabbed a supervising driver for being five times over the limit.
They were conducting breath-tests at preliminary testing site at Bannockburn on December 29th, when they stopped a car being driven by a 40-year-old learner driver.
Their supervisor, a 42-year-old Teesdale man was subsequently tested, returning an evidentiary breath test of .250.
Under Victorian law, supervising drivers must remain under the legal alcohol limit of .05.
The man received an immediate licence suspension and will be summonsed to appear at the Geelong Magistrates Court at a later date.
