Police detected 112 offences during an ongoing road safety operation across Victoria’s west in September.

Operation West Connect involved highway patrol units enforcing across major arterials in western Victoria targeting high-risk driving behaviour associated with road trauma.

It comes as 211 have died on the state’s roads so far this year, with 53 of those occurring on roads in western Victoria.

Fifteen people have died in the Bendigo, Campaspe, and Macedon Ranges region and a further 14 people in the Ballarat and Moorabool region.

Horsham and Northern Grampians have experienced seven deaths on roads, and there have been five deaths in the Mildura and Swan Hill region.

The Warrnambool and Southern Grampians region and the Geelong and Surf Coast region have both experienced six lives lost this year.

Operation West Connect is an ongoing operation focused on detecting speeding, distracted and impaired drivers.

More than half of offences detected in September were for speeding, with more than 85 per cent of speeding drivers detected between 10 kilometres and 25 kilometres an hour over the speed limit.

Police conducted 363 preliminary breath tests and 70 preliminary oral fluid tests for drugs, detecting four drug driving offences and one drink driving offence.

The total 112 offences detected included 63 speeding offences; 12 defect notices; seven unregistered vehicles; six seatbelt offences; four mobile phone offences; four drug-driving offences from 70 roadside drug tests; three disqualified/suspended and unlicenced drivers; one heavy vehicle offence; one disobey traffic sign; and one drink driving offence from 363 preliminary breath tests.

Western Region Road Policing Inspector Justine Ryan said police continued to detect too many speeding motorists travelling between 10 and 25 kilometres over the speed limit.

“Speeding continues to be the number one contributing factor to serious injury and fatal collisions, and travelling even just a little bit over the speed limit significantly increases the likelihood of this occurring,” she said.

“This month during Operation West Connect we also saw a higher number of people caught not wearing seatbelts and using their mobile device while driving.

“Slow down, stick to the speed limit, always wear a seatbelt and avoid using a mobile device and becoming distracted while driving – these are fairly simple, but essential actions everyone can take to keep themselves, their loved ones and other road users safe while on the road.”

Operation West Connect will continue across western Victoria – encompassing major arterial roads as far west as the South Australia border.

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