RAID on drink drivers increased

ACT Policing has joined forces with NSW Police to launch this year’s Remove All Impaired Drivers (RAID) campaign in the ACT. It follows yesterday’s national launch in Victoria - the state responsible for overseeing this year’s event - at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The operation runs from today, November 21 through to Saturday, December 13 and is Australia’s biggest traffic operation, bringing together police from seven states and territories.

Last year over 320,000 random breath tests were conducted during the operation – almost the entire population of the ACT.

This year police from Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland Police will be involved in Operation RAID for the first time, joining police in the ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia to target those drivers taking a risk on our roads.

The operation is specifically timed to target motorists in the lead up to the busy holiday period, traditionally a time where alcohol consumption increases and more motorists travel between the states.

ACT Policing’s Traffic Superintendent Mark Colbran said motorists who chose to drink then drive represented a significant risk to the community.

“Operation RAID detects those impaired drivers on our roads but also aims to deter them from taking that risk in the first place.

“By removing alcohol affected drivers from our roads, overall community safety is improved and the potential for serious or fatal accidents is greatly reduced.

“This year motorists will see more police than ever, no matter where they are from or where they are going, from Perth to Sydney, Darwin to Canberra, you will be caught if you choose to break the law,” Supt Colbran said.

At specific times during the three-week operation, police will combine their efforts for border ‘lockdowns’, in which all motorists travelling across state and territory borders will be subject to random breath tests. A number of other operations designed to target drink driving will also be carried out across the states and territories as part of the overall Operation RAID.

In the ACT during Operation RAID in 2007, 6504 Random Breath Tests (RBT) were conducted, with 118 drivers caught drink driving. A range of other traffic offences were also detected in the ACT during the operation including 412 people caught speeding, 46 seatbelt offences, 18 people caught driving whilst suspended/disqualified/unlicensed and another 328 miscellaneous traffic infringements were issued.