Operation Crossroads – State wide enforcement activities (cumulative Total)

 Note:  This is a cumulative report comparing this stage in this year’s operation to the same stage in Last year’s operation.

These are the results from the sixth full day of Operation Crossroads.

As it stands this year Tasmania Police have attended no fatal crashes, however, 2 serious crashes have occurred. This is a decrease on even the low levels of the successful Easter road safety campaign of 2016

Tasmania Police are extremely pleased with the results to date. The majority of the drivers on Tasmania’s roads have been doing the right thing and that is reflected in the crash statistics.  Although there are clear examples of those in our community who have not been respecting the road safety message it is clear that the vast majority Tasmanian’s are driving in a manner that will ensure they get home safely after their Easter break.

Incidents

Yesterday, a man from Avoca was detected travelling at 139 km/hr in 100 km/hr zone on Esk Highway.  He received a 3 month disqualification, six demerit points and a $650 fine.

Drink Driving

Some members of the public continue to drive after consuming alcohol and drugs.  Tasmania Police urge people to plan ahead and either take a taxi, walk or arrange a designated driver.

The number of drivers detected drink driving this year is higher than at the same time period in the campaign last year.  However, when compared to the increased number of RBT’s conducted, the number of drink drivers per test remains relatively similar.  47 drivers will face court after being detected driving over the prescribed alcohol limit.

Drug Driving –Increase in Positive Oral Fluid Tests

113 Oral Fluid tests have been conducted on drivers so far this Easter period.  of those, 62 have returned positive results and been subjected to further testing (blood).  The number of positive drug driver tests has almost doubled than at the same time last year.  However, this is in correlation to an increase in the number of tests that have been conducted.

Due to the impost on drivers and police resources regarding the amount of time Oral Fluid Tests (OFT’s) take, OFT’s are a much more targeted test than a random breath test (as the name would suggest).  There are occasions where oral fluid tests will be conducted on a random basis, however, Police generally use local knowledge, observations of driving and driver behaviour and intelligence to identify the subjects of these tests, hence the much higher positive result per test than an RBT.

Previous statistics indicate that the most common drugs found in these tests are cannabis and amphetamine.

Speeding

Speeding offences are significantly higher than at the same time period last year with 707 drivers detected speeding across the state.  30 of these infringements have been for offences of speeding more than 30km/h above the posted limit.

Drivers are reminded to plan ahead, slow down, be patient enjoy their trip.

Driving home after your Easter Break?

Expect to see more traffic on the roads over this period.  Be patient and courteous with drivers of camper vans and those towing caravans.  If you are one of these people driving these slower vehicles, where possible, take opportunities to pull over allow faster vehicles to get past.

If you need to be somewhere by a certain time, plan ahead, leave early so you’re not tempted to speed or take risks.

The Fatal Five

Tasmania Police ask each and every motorist to drive carefully and be continually aware of the ‘fatal 5’; the five biggest contributors to serious and fatal accidents on our roads, these being:

Speed

Failure to wear seatbelts or helmets

Alcohol and Drugs

Distraction

Driving whilst tired