Surf Coast Times
Tuesday 25 January 2011
VOL 9. No 4
www.surfcoasttimes.com.au
FREE WEEKLY
The inaugural Surf Coast Knockout lived up to the hype with an action-packed last day thrilling the huge crowds at The Sands, Torquay, on Sunday. At the end of the groundbreaking tournament, it was Scott Laycock who emerged victorious. As well as walking away with the winner’s cheque, Laycock becomes the first player to add his name to a Quiksilver surfboard, which will remain at The Sands and will be signed by the winner of the tournament each year. See more PETER MARSHALL photos on pages 14 and 15 and a full report on page 151.
BLITZ IGNORED Road blitz figures reveal motorists are continuing to ignore warnings
BY ELEANOR WOODS A HOLIDAY road blitz helped quell illegal driving over the hectic period – but the Surf Coast still suffered five road deaths and police charged more than 1,000 drivers breaching the law. In the Surf Coast region 1,092 offences were reported during Operation AEGIS, which ran from December 17 until January 9. During the stint, police recorded 19 people with excess blood alcohol, six people were caught driving while disqualified and 14 unlicensed drivers were nabbed. A further 521 drivers were caught speeding, 77 were stopped for not wearing seatbelts and 45 for
Surf Forecast
driving while using a mobile phone. Throughout the state, more than 12,500 speeding motorists and 1,560 drink drivers were removed from the roads during Operation AEGIS. Another 3,175 drivers were detected for using mobile phones and 2,241 for not wearing seatbelts, while 735 disqualified drivers and 1,463 unlicensed drivers were caught. In total, 38,960 traffic offences were reported state-wide over the 24-day period, which is one of the most high-risk times of the year for drinkdriving and alcohol and drug-related road trauma. Road policing superintendent, Neville Taylor, said police had been cracking down on speeding drivers, distracted drivers and dangerous drivers.
“We’ve had more police out patrolling our roads, carrying out more preliminary breath tests,” he said. “We’re still disappointed with such a large number of drivers ignoring the risk and getting behind the wheel after a few drinks too many. They put themselves and others in danger – and that’s not at all acceptable. “Our message is still the same: if you drink and drive you will get caught. “This operation might have come to an end but our focus and emphasis on road safety has not. We will continue to target drunk, speeding and dangerous drivers throughout 2011. “Tackling the road toll is not something that police can do alone. Drivers must take responsibility
and support us as we go about preventing further carnage on our roads this year.” Deputy commissioner, Kieran Walshe, said drivers needed to remember the risks that country roads pose. “Our country roads are still incredibly busy. People are still returning from holidays, and with that comes impatient drivers, delays and people travelling on unfamiliar roads. It can be a recipe for drivers taking risks,” he said. “Although we’re coming to the end of one of the most high-risk times of the year on our roads, we won’t be letting up on road safety. We won’t be tolerating unsafe, speeding and dangerous driving. It’s for everyone’s sake – it will save lives.”
WED 0-1ft flat SW 20° THU 0-1ft building S/SW 24° FRI 1ft building S/SW 20° SAT 1-1ft average E/SE 24°
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