Victoria Police have expressed serious concern following a spike in drink and drug driving offences detected during the first week of Operation Compass, a major road policing initiative launched on 17 April coincide with the Easter period.
Despite repeated warnings and a strong public awareness campaign, police detected 466 alcohol and drug driving offences in just seven days—prompting a renewed plea to motorists ahead of the ANZAC Day long weekend.
Of these offences, 248 drivers were caught over the limit from more than 150,000 preliminary breath tests, equating to one offence per 605 drivers tested. A further 218 drivers tested positive for illicit drugs from 5,308 roadside drug tests—a significantly higher strike rate of one in every 24 drivers.
Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said the figures revealed a troubling disregard for public safety.
“Despite our continuous warnings, we are extremely concerned at the number of motorists we’ve detected drink and drug driving over the Easter period,” he said.
“This just shows that people are continuing to make really poor choices.”
“There is absolutely no excuse. Take the risk, and you will be caught.”
Operation Compass has already recorded 7,689 traffic offences across the state between April 17 and 23, including:
3,231 speeding offences
530 unlicensed, disqualified, or suspended drivers
466 drivers disobeying signs and signals
375 mobile phone offences
248 drink driving offences
218 drug driving offences
149 vehicle impounds
131 seatbelt offences
757 unregistered vehicles
Police are particularly concerned about the number of unauthorised drivers on the roads, with more than 500 individuals caught driving without a valid licence.
Officers are continuing to use automatic number plate recognition technology to detect and remove these drivers from the road.
Tragically, five fatal crashes have occurred since the operation began, resulting in the loss of five lives. Incidents include a single-vehicle crash in Werribee, a motorcycle double fatality in Thomastown, and the death of a teenage e-scooter rider in Terang.
These incidents have brought the state’s road toll to 91, just one more than this time last year.
Operation Compass will continue until 11.59pm on Sunday 27 April, with police maintaining a high-visibility presence across the state. Officers will focus on impaired, distracted, and dangerous driving, and are reminding all motorists to expect testing anytime, anywhere.
With wet weather forecast over the weekend, police are urging drivers to plan ahead, adjust to conditions, and exercise patience on the roads.
For road safety tips and further information, visit the Victoria Police Road Safety page.
