Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Steel (left) and Detective Sergeant Sean Evans raised road safety awareness during National Road Safety Week. Photo: ACT Policing.
During National Road Safety Week, police were at pains to remind drivers about the consequences of driving dangerously on the road.
Sadly, the ACT has recorded three road fatalities so far this year, while last year the toll reached 11.
Since 2020, the Territory has had 54 people die on its roads.
“National Road Safety Week is an important annual event that reminds us of the devastating impact that road trauma has on individuals, families and the community,” ACT Policing said on social media.
But despite the message, drivers were still caught street racing, speeding and driving with alcohol or drugs in their systems in the ACT over National Road Safety Week, which ran from 11 to 18 May.
More than 90 speeding fines were issued and 16 people were charged with drink driving during the week, an ACT Policing spokesperson said.
On 11 May, a 43-year-old man was allegedly spotted speeding at 110 km/h in a 90 km/h zone on William Hovell Drive, Whitlam.
The driver – who had his nine-year-old child in the car – tested positive to the presence of drugs and alcohol, while police checks revealed his licence was suspended.
On the night of 12 May, two 17-year-old boys were seen racing in a Mazda and a Volkswagen along Gungahlin Drive, Mitchell.
Both boys were issued with an infringement notice and incurred three demerit points.
Police then caught three people drug driving in Symonston, Weston and Red Hill on 14 May. All three will be charged with drug driving.
A further five people were caught drink driving on Saturday night (17 May) in Gungahlin, including one woman who was caught twice.
That night, police officers pulled over a 34-year-old woman who was subjected to a roadside breath test that was positive for alcohol.
She then returned a breath analysis of 0.240 and was immediately suspended from driving in the ACT for 90 days.
But just two hours after she was pulled over, the same officers saw the woman walking towards her vehicle.
She started driving on Gundaroo Drive and was pulled over by police again.
Police subjected the woman to another roadside breath test, which was positive for alcohol, and she later returned a breath analysis of 0.191.
She was arrested and will face the ACT Magistrates Court on 16 June.
Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Steel said police wanted drivers to take responsibility for their actions on our roads.
“We want to see zero deaths on ACT roads, and we need the community’s support to achieve that,” he said.
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