Sixteen killed on NSW and Victorian roads during Anzac long weekend
Sixteen people were killed and hundreds were injured on NSW and Victorian roads over the course of the Anzac Day long weekend this year.
Over the weekend in NSW, 113 people were injured, and 295 major crashes occurred.
Specialist police operations were run over the course of the long weekend to target dangerous driver behaviour such as drink, drug, dangerous and distracted driving, as well as speeding, not wearing seatbelts, and mobile phone use.
“During the operation across the state, police issued a total of 9,019 infringements, including 2,538 for speeding,” NSW Police said.
“Police conducted 156,260 breath tests with 249 people charged with drink-driving, and 5,232 roadside drug tests, with 547 positive detections.”
Hundreds were also fined for mobile phone offences, and thousands of other traffic infringement notices were given.
The total number of lives lost on NSW roads so far is 117, six more compared to this time last year.
Among concerning incidents over the weekend, included a 31-year-old woman who was allegedly speeding at 90km/h and 100km/h in a 50km/h street in Taminda, with a child in her rear seat.
A 31-year-old man was also charged over the weekend when he blew a BAC reading of 0.190 after he was pulled over for speeding in Lambton.
Nine fatal crashes in Victoria
Meanwhile, in Victoria over the Anzac long weekend there were nine fatal crashes.
More than 700 drunk and drug drivers were also caught in the state across the Easter and Anzac Day period.
Over 4,000 of speeding fines were issued in the state, 544 mobile phone offences, 371 drug detections and 375 drink driving offences.
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said the weekend is “a tragic reminder that lives can irreversibly change in an instant on the road”.
“We’ve seen a horror long weekend with seven lives lost on our roads. These are seven people who are not coming home and families dealing with terrible grief,” she said.
“I implore everyone to make safe, responsible choices every time you operate a motor vehicle.
“I want to thank our hardworking police who are out there 365 days a year, doing everything they can to keep the roads safe.
“While double demerits have now concluded, officers will continue to target unsafe, risky and illegal behaviours because we want everyone to arrive to their destination safely.”