More than 5500 offences were detected by Victoria Police during a four-day statewide road policing operation over the Australia day long weekend.
Operation Amity saw police highly visible and targeting high-risk driving behaviour, with increased roadside alcohol and drug testing conducted over the four days.
“We continue to see far too many people making poor choices and opting to drink or take drugs and then drive,” road policing assistant commissioner, Glenn Weir said.
“The number of drink drivers caught during Operation Amity is concerning, particularly with so many high-range detections – but any level of impairment on our roads is cause for concern. If you think you can drink or take drugs and drive – think again.”
“With warm weather set to continue, police will continue to be out conducting alcohol and drug testing anywhere, anytime, and motorists should expect to be tested – and you will be caught.
“With five lives lost in four days, this should be a wake-up call to all motorists that we cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to road safety – it must remain a priority.”
One in every 420 drivers who were breath tested were caught over the legal alcohol limit, with 214 drink driving offences detected from 89,835 preliminary breath tests.
Notable drink driving detections included:
A 23-year-old probationary driver was intercepted by police in Maddingley on Friday night and provided an alleged evidentiary breath test reading of 0.213 – four times the legal limit
A 31-year-old Mill Park man was intercepted by police in the early hours of Saturday morning in Mill Park and provided an alleged breath test reading of 0.232 – four times the legal limit
A 56-year-old Sunbury man was detected by police on Saturday afternoon in Bulla allegedly travelling at 99km/hr in a 60km/hr zone and provided an alleged breath test reading of 0.122 – twice the legal limit
A 55-year-old Montrose woman was intercepted at a random testing site in Lilydale and provided an alleged evidentiary breath test of .201 – four times the legal limit
A further 154 drug driving offences were detected from 2441 roadside drug tests – a strike rate of one in every 16 drivers testing positive to drugs.
Sunday recorded the highest number of impaired driving detections, with 100 drink and drug drivers caught, while Monday saw the most drivers caught speeding, with 662 speeding infringements issued.
The total 5518 offences detected during Operation Amity included:
2288 speeding offences
487 unregistered vehicles
403 disqualified/suspended and unlicenced drivers
363 disobey signs/signals
223 mobile phone offences
214 drink driving offences from 89,835 preliminary breath tests
154 drug driving offences from 2441 roadside drug tests
84 seatbelt offences; and
81 vehicle impoundments
There have been five lives lost on Victorian roads since Friday, including:
Two passengers after a vehicle collided with a pole in Ferntree Gully on Saturday evening
A driver following a head-on collision between two vehicles in Whittlesea on Sunday afternoon
A driver after a vehicle collided with tree at Athlone on Sunday afternoon
A motorcyclist following collision with a vehicle at Cranbourne West on Monday evening
The weekend’s fatalities bring the total lives lost on Victorian roads to 19 in 2026, compared to 29 at the same time in 2025.
With the return of school this week, police are urging motorists to remain vigilant behind the wheel, with 40km/h speed limits in school zones to be actively enforced.
Operation Amity ran from 12.01am Friday 23 January to 11.59pm on Monday 26 January.
For more information and tips for staying safe on the roads, visit the Road Safety page on the Victoria Police website.
