
An increase in speeding motorists near Warrnambool's Hopkins River bridge is a disaster waiting to happen, the city's road policing chief says.
Warrnambool police highway patrol commander Sergeant Lisa McRae said police had clocked up to 30 motorists travelling in excess of the 60 km/h speed limit on Hopkins Point Road in recent weeks.
"We're talking about speeds of between 15 km/h and 30 km/h over that speed limit," she said.
"If something goes wrong, it would be horrific. At those speeds, it would result in a high-impact collision in an area that has a lot of people going for walks, there's people fishing and even trucks coming and going from nearby development areas.
"When you've got motorists speeding at up to 90kmh, it's a recipe for disaster."
Sergeant McRae said there'd also been an increase in motorists using their mobile phones and driving unroadworthy vehicles.
The new rules came into effect on March 31 and cover a range of electronic devices, including mobile phones, iPads and smart watches - or being shown a display on an electronic device by a passenger.
"Drivers need to be aware there are consequences for these actions," she said.
"Distraction is a major contributing factor to road trauma."
Sergeant McRae said unroadworthy vehicles recently intercepted across the city including cars with very little to no tyre tread depth, cracked windows and illegal modifications, such as suspension lowered to less than 100mm.
"When you've got unroadworthy cars travelling on our roads in these wet weather conditions, it is very dangerous," she said.
She said nabbed motorists faced fines between about $500 and $800.
The sergeant said drivers could expect to see an increase in police vehicles on south-west roads.
She said a booze bus was set up in Warrnambool on Saturday, August 19 and Sunday, August 20.
"Pleasingly there was nothing to report," Sergeant McRae said.
"Motorists can expect the drug and alcohol buses to be set up at random spots and at random times. It's not part of a designated operation, so you'll likely see us when you don't expect it."
Meanwhile, a 59-year-old Warrnambool man was clocked at 76km/h in a signed 60km/h on Warrnambool's Coghlans Road on Saturday night.
The motorist's licence was immediately suspended and his car was impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1130.
He will be summonsed to appear in court at a later date.
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