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Friday September 3, 2010

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Neil Mitchell: It's time for 'D-Plates'

Posted by: 3AW Radio | 3 December, 2009 - 9:07 AM


ABOVE: Neil Mitchell introduces his 'D-Plate' idea. Let him know below in the blog section whether or not you support his idea.

THURSDAY: Victorian police have removed more than 700 drink drivers in the first half of Australia's biggest road traffic blitz - Operation RAID.

Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers) runs from 12.01am on Friday 20 November to 11.59pm on Saturday 12 December.

By 9am Tuesday, Victorian police had conducted more than 188,000 breath-tests and charged 740 motorists with exceeding the prescribed blood-alcohol concentration (BAC).

That's one in every 254 drivers tested.

On the first two nights of Operation RAID, when city police locked down the major roads and popular backstreets with a ring of booze bus steel, police booked 65 drink drivers.

Police have drug-tested 450 drivers and charged 24 for driving under the influence of drugs.

Around 3700 drivers have been issued tickets for speeding during the first half of Operation RAID.

City traffic Inspector Greg Parr said the early results of Operation RAID proved there was nowhere to hide for drunk and drugged motorists.

"It's staggering that we've booked 740 Victorian drivers for drink driving in just 12 days," he said.

"We warned motorists we'd be everywhere during Operation RAID, but it appears many are still happy to drink and take the risk.

"Alcohol is one of the biggest killers on our roads, people need to stop and think about that before they put the keys in the ignition," Insp Parr said.

Nationally, Operation RAID has breath-tested around 220,000 motorists and nabbed 1100 for drink driving.

The operation is timed to target motorists in the lead up to the busy holiday period, traditionally a time where alcohol consumption increases and more motorists travel between the states.

During Operation RAID last year, police throughout Australia conducted some 569,000 breath tests in three weeks, and charged more than 4000 motorists with drink or drug driving offences.

More than 390,000 breath tests were conducted in Victoria alone.

More than 20,000 motorists were also reported for speeding and restraint offences nationally.

Last year 50 drivers and motorcyclists were killed with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 and over.

Blog comments Your Say

  • Why is the bom.gov.au Victorian rain radar offline?

    cameron davis Monday 18 January, 2010 - 11:50 AM

  • Dear Neil i lost my licence on fathers day for drink driving and was the best thing that happened to me. only because it has taught me a good lesson. I have not had a drink since i lost it.I have done my accredited drink driver education program which changed my thought about driving while under the influrence of alcohol. I was a delivry driver for a poultry company and they have kept me on until i get my licence back so i am working in the factory. to get to work is about 20 km away from my home so i brought a eletric scooter to get me there at 1.30 am in the morning. its a bit scarery as i was assaulted by 2 guys in a car driving past and punching me in the back of the head and hit my bike with there car.they turned there lights of and the passenger was right out the window.I rang the police but they could not do anything because i did not get the rego. I wish there were more patrol cars on the road at that time in the morning to feel a bit safe at that time of the morning.I did wrong i know that but i dont deserve that. i would do anything to get my licence back now even help people under stand what you can lose after irresponsible behavier.

    Robert Walker Wednesday 16 December, 2009 - 7:00 PM

  • when ever l drive around country roads,l flash my lights to on coming traffic regardless wether there is any police about or not.l bekieve through this simple action l help people to slow down and keep the road toll down.

    l also believe that the police should notify pubs and clubs that there MAY be a blitz happening in their area and the clubs and pubs should make this aware to its patrons

    Thanks

    Merry Christmas

    John Biasuzzo
    Trauma Scene Cleaning

    0412379906

    john Biasuzzo Wednesday 9 December, 2009 - 6:05 PM

  • Let me guess - another brilliant idea from Force Command, the centre for intellectual midgets~!

    Lenny Friday 4 December, 2009 - 10:57 PM

  • Good topic for discussion but I can't see a positive outcome. It seems drunk drivers are unconcerned with their decision to drink and drive. Losing points, being fined or losing their licence doesn't seem to worry them. Do you think they'd be more responsible, show remorse and actually display a "D" plate?

    Liz Friday 4 December, 2009 - 4:15 PM

  • As a police officer retired after 44 years, I'm on the road a fair bit and rarely see a adequate marked police cars on the road. Cameras do work (and bring in money) but they don't detect unlicenced, cancelled, disqualified drivers, those wanted on warrants, suspects wanted by the police, noisy m/cycles, unroadworthy vehicles, safety belts, mob/phones .. the chances of being picked up are very minimal. Even Booze Bus stops don't check licences, registrations, warrants.

    Adrian Paterson Friday 4 December, 2009 - 9:20 AM

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