POLICE detected more than 1100 offences as part of a major road policing operation during the snow season.
Operation Eastern Snow ran over the ski season, with police enforcement targeted on roads heading to and from snowfields including Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Mt Buller.
A total of 1177 offences were detected, with almost half of them detected for speeding.
The majority of 518 drivers caught speeding were travelling between 10km/h and 25km/h over the limit.
One driver was caught at 123km/h in a 40km/h zone near a child play area at Mount Hotham in July.
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Police also caught nine drug-drivers, five drink-drivers, 72 unregistered vehicles, 19 disqualified, suspended or unlicenced drivers, three mobile phone offences and three vehicle impoundments.
Eastern Region Road Policing Acting Inspector, Michael Cirksis, said overall driver behaviour was positive and feedback from local communities suggested the highly visible police presence during the snow season had resulted in greater compliance with the road rules.
“Local residents and businesses have reported less speeding through towns and generally better driver behaviour by those travelling to and from snowfields like Mt Buller, Falls Creek and Mt Hotham,” he said.
However, Acting Inspector Cirksis said police continued to detect too many driver flouting the rules.
“Speeding continues to be the most common offence detected, which is concerning given some of the roads in the region have been significantly impacted by ice and snow at times throughout the winter months,” he said.
“Even though Operation Eastern Snow has wrapped up for this year with the conclusion of the snow season, our highway patrols will continue to be highly visible and enforcing across the region.
“We’ll be particularly focused on enforcing speed and detecting drivers who choose to exceed the speed limit.”
Buses and heavy vehicles were a major focus during the operation, with police working alongside Safe Transport Victoria to intercept vehicles at designated checkpoints and conduct safety compliance checks.
Police issued 233 heavy vehicle offences during the operation with 145 defect notices given.
