Border and North East police will be cracking down on drink and drug driving this long weekend, with motorists warned of increased roadside testing ahead of the Melbourne Cup.
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Operation Furlong will run until 11.59pm on Tuesday, November 7, with police planning to carry out about 120,000 preliminary breath tests across the state.
Wangaratta police Senior Sergeant David Gillespie said an increased police presence would be seen across the North East and warned motorists to think twice before getting behind the wheel under the influence.
"It's understood that we'll experience, because of the time of year and the weather we're experiencing, an influx of tourist activity in our regions," he said.
"So police will be out enforcing road rules, particularly around speed, but also expect to be breath tested."
Senior Sergeant Gillespie also said that low-level speeding won't be tolerated.
"It's these minor low-level offences that we're finding is significantly contributing to our road trauma," he said.
![Border police will be cracking down on drink and drug driving this long weekend. File image Border police will be cracking down on drink and drug driving this long weekend. File image](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205593064/36eb1092-910c-45c0-bb0a-3a72479b1b94.jpg/r5_0_1194_669_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We want to ensure people are wearing their seatbelts and aren't using their mobile phones, as distractions like that can lead to catastrophic consequences."
If you are over the age of 26 and you register a blood alcohol reading of 0.5 to 0.7 while driving, you will incur a $577 fine and lose your license for three months.
If you're under the age of 26 with the same reading level, it'll be a six-month loss of license.
"Police want everybody to enjoy this weekend, but understand that we won't tolerate poor road user behaviour and that the road rules will be enforced," Senior Sergeant Gillespie said.
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Motorists are also urged to be mindful of roadkill.
"We're noticing a lot of animal strikes on our roadways at the moment, and I think it's got a lot to do with our daylight savings, the movement of people during sunrise and sunset," Senior Sergeant Gillespie said.
"Be aware of the nature of where we live. We experience kangaroos, wombats, deer and other livestock, and we love living here, but we need to understand those risks.
"So we are asking people to take their time and be cautious at those times of day."
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