ONE of the biggest Wangaratta-based road safety operations in living memory took place on the Hume Freeway last weekend, with police “extremely disappointed” by the results.
Operation Radihus saw around 100 police units from across the region and the state converge between Wangaratta and Wodonga from Thursday until Sunday in an effort to combat a rising road toll within the North East.
Police were stationed at two major checkpoints at the Glenrowan Rest Area’s northbound lanes on Friday night and Benton Hill Rest Area’s southbound lanes on Saturday night.
Virtually every vehicle that drove by each of the two checkpoints were pulled over as officers conducted vehicle and heavy vehicle inspections, drug and alcohol testing, and compliance checks to detect and remove high-risk drivers from the road.
Police detected 450 offences in total, including 22 alcohol and drug impaired drivers, 136 speeding offences, 118 heavy vehicle offences and 28 unregistered vehicles.
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Officers conducted 4900 preliminary breath tests and 584 roadside drug tests, resulting in three drink driving and 19 drug driving offences.
Of the 136 speeding drivers, 17 were clocked travelling more than 25km/h over the legal speed limit.
Wangaratta Local Area Command Inspector Ash Mason said he was extremely disappointed by the number of impaired drivers detected within the city’s major roadway.
“This is certainly the largest operation of this nature I’ve seen in the North East on the Hume Freeway,” he said.
“It’s evident that what has been detected over the weekend, there is still a culture among some motorists out there who are doing the wrong thing and are intentionally making choices to do the wrong thing, and they are presenting a risk to themselves and every other road user.
“We want motorists to understand anywhere at any time, you’re likely to be intercepted by police.”
The multi-agency operation involved uniform, local and state Highway Patrol officers from as far as Knox and Nunawading, local detectives, dog squad, and partner agencies including the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Safe Transport Victoria, and the Department of Transport and Planning.
The region has seen a tragic start to the year on our local roads, with police data showing five lives lost and 47 serious injuries recorded due to motor vehicle collisions.
Last year 17 lives were lost across the North East— eight in Wangaratta and nine in Wodonga — while 169 people suffered serious injuries from motor vehicle collisions.
Inspector Mason said a key policing focus of the operation was to remove at risk drivers and at-risk vehicles from our roads, with the North East highlighted as a major risk area by the statewide police force.
“We’re seeing too many crashes happening involving local people on local roads,” he said.
“The Hume Freeway is the most major arterial route for people travelling between Melbourne and Sydney, with significant traffic volume flow.
"If behaviours on our roads don’t change soon, we’ll continue to see this heartbreaking trend escalate throughout 2025.
“We need to do what we can to make our roads safer for everyone and reduce those levels of road trauma.”
Senior safety and compliance officer at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Kirstie Matthews said of the 118 heavy vehicle offences detected during the operation, fatigue and mechanical defects were common trends.
“We remind operators and drivers of heavy vehicles they comply with work and rest requirements under the law,” she said.
“As part of the vehicle inspection trailer checking components of brakes, suspension and steering, we identified a trailer presented for inspection with a cracked axel.
“There were some significant things that were identified through these checks and a very valuable exercise to work with our roadside partners.”
Ms Matthews said the results gathered over the two major days of operation were concerning for the heavy vehicle regulator.
“We’re talking about vehicle with mass limits of up to 50 to 70 tonnes, the influence that can have if things aren’t conducted correctly on the road is absolutely a safety issue,” she said.
During the operation police also arrested a number of people for a range of offences including possession of illicit drugs and weapons.
Police intercepted a 34-year-old South Melbourne man who had a suspended driver's licence and wanted for questioning for various alleged offences including blackmail and threatening to damage property.
During a search of his vehicle, police located and seized quantities of illicit drugs and controlled weapons.
His vehicle was unregistered and later impounded by police for 30 days at a cost of $1850.
A 40-year-old male from Bendigo was intercepted at the Glenrowan site and returned a positive result to a roadside drug test for illicit drugs.
His vehicle was searched and drugs were located in the vehicle.
Both drivers would be summoned to appear at court at a later date.
Inspector Mason said police would continue to look to conduct similar operations within the region, hoping to see drivers paying greater attention on local roads.
“People let their guard down in places they know well, and that’s when the mistakes happen,” he said.
“What’s especially concerning is that many of the serious collisions we’re seeing are the result of small, avoidable errors – speeding just a little, failing to wear a seatbelt, or missing a stop sign.
“These seemingly minor lapses are having devastating consequences.”
*Video courtesy of Victoria Police.
