Quiet weekend on the roads

A 22-year-old man from Sydney, detected driving his HSV Commodore at 133km/h on the Monaro Highway, was one of 52 Traffic Infringement Notices (TINs) issued for speeding over the long weekend by ACT Policing.

The driver, checked at 53km/h over the posted speed limit, faces licence suspension after he was issued with a $1811 fine for the offence and the loss of 12 demerit points.

ACT Policing issued 152 TINS in total over the period, including 13 for using a handheld mobile phone and one for failing to wear a seatbelt.

Double demerit points were in place over the long weekend for speeding and seatbelt offences. ACT Policing and NSW Police patrolled arterial roads to and from the NSW snowfields throughout the weekend as part of Operation Snowsafe, with a focus on high-risk behaviours such as speeding, drink-driving, failing to wear seatbelts, and driver fatigue.

ACT Policing conducted 281 random breath tests over the three days. The highest reading was 0.247 – or almost five times the legal limit – from a breath sample taken from a driver whose Toyota Hilux was seen weaving from one side of the road to the other on Ginninderra Drive, Dunlop around 6.30pm on Saturday (June 11).

There was only one serious collision, in which a Falcon utility driven by a 19-year-old woman collided with two lightpoles in Holt. Fortunately, the driver suffered only minor injuries.

The Officer-In-Charge of ACTP Traffic Operations, Sergeant Jeff Knight, said that the roads to and from the snowfields were busy over the weekend and appealed for drivers to slow down and take extra care.

“Thankfully we had a fatality-free long weekend, but we need all road users to continue to pay attention and stay safe,” Sergeant Knight said.

[Courtesy ACT Policing]