Terang police Senior Constable Mel Gray said Operation Optimus was run for about six hours on Tuesday in the Corangamite region to target heavy vehicles.

She said that was in response to the high representation of heavy vehicles in fatal and serious injury collisions across the south-west.

"The aim is to reduce unroadworthy heavy vehicles on the roads by targeting driver compliance," she said.

"It was a successful operation addressing priorities in an endeavor to reduce road trauma.

"There's definitely still work to do around compliance and drivers need to be aware we will be running more operations like this."

Senior Constable Gray said that on Tuesday members of Terang police, the Warrnambool highway patrol unit, Skipton police and the state heavy vehicle unit combined to run the operation with a focus on unroadworthy vehicles, driver fatigue, work diary compliance and general traffic offences.

She said there were road blocks set up in Mortlake and Cobden and mobile patrols conducted across the Corangamite region.

"Over the course of the six hours we intercepted 56 heavy vehicles and nine cars," she said.

"There were 11 defect notices for unroadworthy vehicles.

"In addition there were 23 penalty notices issued. There were 11 for work diary offences, one for an unsafe heavy vehicle due to a minor defect and 11 other traffic offences for failing to wear seat belts and speeding between 15km/h to 25km/h over the limit."

The operation organiser said one driver was immediately grounded and would be summoned to appear in court for fatigue and work diary offences.

"The middle aged driver works for a local company and he will appear in court at a later date," Senior Constable Gray said.

"The heavy vehicle unit members will also pay a follow up visit to the company involved to remind them of their obligations and the law."

Senior Constable Gray said 16 drivers also undertook a preliminary oral fluid drug tests with one driver returning a positive indication to methamphetamine.

"He was also grounded. That sample will undergo further forensic analysis and he could also be summoned to appear in court at a later date," she said.

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South-west police road safety adviser Acting Senior Sergeant Gavin Slade said there was a high representation of heavy vehicles in the region's fatal and serious injury collisions.

"On a close examination of the data there are many occasions when the heavy vehicle operator is not at fault," he said.

"However, anyone anyone involved in a collision with a heavy vehicle is more likely to be injured purely because of the size and weight of those vehicles."

Acting Senior Sergeant Slade urged all drivers to be mindful of heavy vehicles when they were turning, of their braking distances and generally their size.

He said there were chains of responsibility in relation to the operations of heavy vehicles involving loaders, drivers and companies.

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