Police nab fast cars

By Tania Martin
POLICE have impounded five cars for speeding and have urged hills motorists to slow down.
Acting Sergeant Graeme Rust of the Yarra Ranges Traffic Management Unit (TMU) said the five motorists were driving at more than double the speeding limit.
He said one 26-year-old man was intercepted in Montrose for travelling at 150 kilometres per hour in an 80 kmh zone.
Sgt Rust said police also intercepted a 21-year-old travelling at 145 kmh in a 60 kmh zone at Healesville and a 25-year-old clocked at 117 kmh in a 70 kmh zone in Seville. He said the top speed recorded over the holiday period was a motorcyclist who was clocked at 196 kmh in a 100 kmh zone in Warburton.
However, Sgt Rust said police were unable to intercept the rider.
Sgt Rust said something needs to be done to change driver behaviour.
“Eventually if they keep speeding like this they will become a part of the road toll statistics,” he said.
The TMU also handed out 101 penalty notices for traffic offences during the holiday period, including four drink charges and other offences such as driving unregistered vehicles and for driving while talking on mobile phones. Police Victoria Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe has also called for motorists to act more responsibly on the roads following the release of the 2007 official road toll of 332 deaths.
“Our roads are getting safer and the road toll is now lower than it has been in the past but it’s still nowhere good enough,” he said.
In Yarra Ranges Sgt Rust said the fatality rate was down by 30.77 per cent on the previous year.
In 2006 Yarra Ranges recorded 13 fatalities, which was the highest in the state, but in 2007 there was a drop with only nine deaths.
Deputy Commission Walshe said that speed, alcohol, drugs, fatigue, driver distraction and lack of concentration continue to be the key factors for road deaths.
He said people seem to think of the road toll as a number. “But it’s much more than just a number, it represents people who never made it home and will never again be seen by their loved ones.”
Sgt Rust said that now the holiday period was over the Yarra Ranges TMU would be running operations to target motorcyclists.
“This time of year motorcyclists feature prominently in serious or fatal collisions so in the coming months we will be targeting them,” he said.