SIXTY-five truckies were intercepted on Peninsula Link and around the Mornington Peninsula on Monday (13 November) and 58 driving offences recorded in a crackdown on heavy vehicle driver behaviour.
Operation Hauler involved the Somerville Highway Patrol, Victoria Police heavy vehicle unit and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator between Carrum Downs, Hastings and Rosebud and surrounding industrial estates.
Senior Constable Travis Perkins from Mornington police said the peninsula had seen an increase in heavy vehicle collisions causing road trauma.
This year has recorded the highest quarterly collisions involving collisions with heavy vehicles in the past five years.
Already this year there have been eight serious injury collisions and one fatality involving heavy vehicles, a 166.7 per cent increase on the three reported collisions for 2022.
Last week’s operation was designed to provide a highly visible police presence through Frankston, Carrum Downs, Mornington, Hastings and Rosebud, involving vehicle safety checks, licensing, load restraint compliance and impaired driving.
Senior Constable Perkins said drivers were drug and alcohol tested, and visual safety inspections were carried out on all vehicles.
Of the offences, three were for drug driving, 25 were for defects issued or unroadworthy vehicles, and one was for unlicensed driving.
Other offences included excessive speed (1); not wearing seat belts (5); work diary breaches. (9); fatigue (1); insecure load( 10); mass overload (1); and unregistered vehicles (2).
First published in the Mornington News – 21 November 2023
