By Bridget Brady
Management Unit Sergeant Pat McGavigan says he wants to keep Casey’s holiday road toll at zero. 40517
Plummer
CASEY’S traffic police say they will remain vigilant in nabbing speedsters this month, despite January being a typically quiet period on the roads.
Sergeant Pat McGavigan from the Casey Traffic Management Unit (TMU) said police would keep a watchful eye on the roads as visitors passed through the municipality during the holiday season.
Sgt McGavigan said police would patrol the major arterials in the City of Casey to ensure appropriate driver behaviour and urged motorists to be careful on the roads.
“It’s fairly quiet, but that does not mean we will back off. We ask people to take care,” he said.
Sgt McGavigan said last month’s Christmas period was fairly quiet for the TMU, but they impounded the cars of two P-platers who only had their licences for a short period of time.
An 18-year-old man from Seaford who had his licence for six days had his car impounded when police caught him travelling at 147km/h in a 100km/h zone on the Westernport Highway in Cranbourne West about 8.45pm on 23 December.
“He’s lost it (licence) for longer than he’s held it,” Sgt McGavigan said.
Another P-plater, an 18-year-old man from Beaconsfield, was caught travelling at 135km/h in a 70km/h zone on the Princes Highway in Berwick about 9.45pm on Boxing Day. He had his licence for 13 days. Sgt McGavigan said speeds such as those were “road trauma waiting to happen”.
The major state-wide Operation Aegis that finished on 3 January was successful in Casey, he said adding that there were no fatalities on the roads during the Christmas period. The operation started on 18 December and was targeted at limiting the annual road toll, especially during the holiday season. But police this week said the state’s Christmas holiday road toll of 16 was extremely disappointing.
“Our last fatality (in Casey) was 12 November and we want to keep it that way for a lot longer,” Sgt McGavigan said.
