Operation Hamilton took place between Melbourne and Wodonga, involving regional and state highway patrol units working in tandem.
Coinciding with Operation Furious, a road policing initiative by NSW Police on the Hume Fwy between Albury and Sydney, the focus was on combating behaviours such as speeding, distraction and impaired driving.
These behaviours are known to significantly contribute to road trauma.
Speeding was the most prevalent offence, accounting for more than half of the detected violations. Most drivers were caught exceeding the speed limit by 10km/h to 25km/h.
A total of 777 preliminary breath tests and 161 roadside drug tests were conducted, leading to the identification of five drink-driving and seven drug-driving offences.
Heavy vehicle compliance was another area of focus during the operation, with police detecting 50 heavy vehicle offences.
Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said the number of offences detected a four-day period suggested there was a high level of complacency among motorists on the Hume Fwy.
“As a major route between Melbourne and Sydney, which carries high volumes of traffic, we cannot afford for motorists to be complacent when travelling on this road — it is this type of behaviour that often results in road trauma,” he said.
“Anecdotally, we’ve heard that many intercepted motorists commented on the high number of police vehicles they had seen on the Hume Fwy, so we know the visible police presence is having an impact on driver behaviour.
“We’ll continue to look for opportunities in the coming weeks and months to team up with our interstate counterparts to conduct more of these cross-border operations, so you should expect to see police out enforcing anywhere, anytime.”
The total 479 offences detected during Operation Hamilton included 276 speeding offences, 50 heavy vehicle offences, 46 defect notices issued, 34 unregistered vehicles, 12 disqualified/suspended and unlicensed drivers, seven drug driving offences from 161 roadside drug tests, five drink-driving offences from 777 preliminary breath tests, five disobey traffic signs/signals offences, four vehicle impoundments, two mobile phone offences and one motorcycle helmet offence.
Operation Hamilton ran from 12:01am on Monday, June 17 until 11:59pm on Thursday, June 20.
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