Victoria - Thousands of drivers caught in Easter blitz
Anthony Dowsley Herald Sun
THOUSANDS of Victorian motorists will be issued with hefty fines after 7819 traffic offences were detected during three days of the annual Easter road blitz.
More than 280 drunk or drugged drivers (247 blowing over .05 and 35 testing positive for drugs) across the state were nabbed during Operation Crossroads, with police impounding 44 cars and trucks and seven motorcycles since Thursday.
Almost 130,448 drivers were breath-tested between Thursday morning and yesterday morning.
Surprisingly, 351 people failed to fix their seatbelts and 17 motorcyclists were not wearing a helmet, while 615 drivers were caught using their phone while driving.
Speeding was the most common offence.
Overall, 2743 drivers were caught over the speed limit.
Some of the worst road offences, which resulted in the driver's car being impounded, included a Melton man, 22, allegedly driving his sportscar 110km/h in a suburban street in Hadfield and a driver from Altona Meadows allegedly blowing .124 after being clocked at 143km/h in a 80km/h zone in an unregistered car in Altona North.
The national Easter road toll last night stood at 10, including three deaths from Victoria.
A 24-year-old man died after a single-car crash in Geelong late last night.
It's believed the man died instantly when his car left the Portarlington-Geelong Rd near Moolap Station Rd and struck a power pole.
A Dandenong North man, 31, and Burwood East woman, 29, were killed when their car veered off Canterbury Rd in Heathmont and hit a tree on Saturday morning.