A high volume of traffic expected on south-west roads over the Easter weekend has triggered a police warning to slow down or get caught.
Police on Thursday launched a statewide road policing operation which will extend into the Anzac Day public holiday the following weekend.
South-west road safety adviser Senior Sergeant Matt Wheeler said all available police resources would hit the roads, including local road policing units, general duties officers and other regional resources.
He said Operation Compass would run in two phases with the first commencing at 12.01am on Thursday and running through to midnight on April 18.
"It will then recommence on April 22 and run through to midnight on April 25," he said.
He said a high volume of traffic was expected with school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day all falling within the month.
"We will have every person we possibly can out there testing impaired drivers for drugs and alcohol," Senior Sergeant Wheeler said.
"There will also be a strong focus on speed, distraction, fatigue and seatbelt compliance."
Victoria Police said the operation would target regional travel with more than 60 per cent of this year's fatalities occurring on rural roads.
There were 18 lives lost on Victorian roads last month, including an 87-year-old Cobden man killed in a collision with a milk tanker at Glenfyne.
Last year's Easter long weekend on the roads was the worst since 2007 with five people dying in separate collisions across the state.
Across the Warrnambool and Southern Grampians police service areas, there were 223 offences detected during last year's operation, 183 of which were speeding.
Senior Sergeant Wheeler said south-west police would saturate all roads, including highways, those around the central business districts and rural roads less travelled.
"Whether you're in town or travelling more rurally, you'll see us," he said.
"Our team has been instructed to have zero tolerance for anyone driving even a little bit over the speed limit."
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Jessica Howard
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
