OVER 600 people were caught not wearing seatbelts over the Easter double demerit long weekend as Operation Tortoise, part of a two-week traffic blitz on the state’s roads, concluded.
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Two people died in fatal crashes, down from three people last Easter, while 619 major crashes (down 40 from last year) resulted in 185 people being injured (down 40 from last year).
In one incident, about 5.30pm Monday, Holbrook Highway Patrol were conducting speed enforcement on the Hume Hwy at Little Billabong, when they allegedly detected a white VW sedan travelling at 134kmh in the 110kmh speed zone.
The vehicle was stopped by police where the driver allegedly provided false details to officers, who also observed three passengers in the vehicle without seatbelts on.
The 20-year-old man was issued with infringement notices for exceeding the speed limit by more than 20kmh, stating false name/address, driving with three unrestrained passengers and having an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.
NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said while most drivers did the right thing on the roads this Easter, some blatantly put others at risk.
“This long weekend we saw everything on our roads from drivers trying to evade breath-testing sites, to passengers not wearing seatbelts and drivers under the influence,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.
“It is astounding some motorists continue with this kind of behaviour when we have more police on the roads, not to mention double demerits.
“We saw two people die on our roads this Easter, down from three deaths last year, however this is still two too many.
“We are dedicated to driving down the road toll and the public can be assured we will continue to be out there this week as we get set for the Anzac Day holiday,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.
Over the five-day operation, officers conducted 294,421 breath tests and charged 369 people with drink-driving, while 623 infringements were issued for seatbelt offences.
Police caught 5184 people allegedly speeding over the five day period, and issued 7418 other infringements.
Operation Go Slow, the Anzac Day long weekend road campaign, starts at 12.01am on Thursday and continues until 11.59pm on Sunday.
Double demerits will be in force for speeding, seatbelt, and motorcycle helmet offences.