HIGHWAY hoons and a drug-impaired truck driver were ordered off the roads during the police road blitz over the festive season.
Patrol officers detected a vehicle travelling north at 147km/h in a 100km/h zone on the Loddon Valley Highway at Tragowel about 6pm on December 30.
A police spokesperson said the 60-year-old Hillside man told officers he was talking and listening to music “and there were no other cars on the road”.
He lost his licence for 12 months and was fined $925.
On the same evening, a 29-year-old Kerang man was nabbed speeding at 103km/h in a 80km/h zone at Lake Charm on the Murray Valley Highway.
He underwent a breath test and returned a reading of 0.078.
He lost his licence for six months and was also fined $925 for the two offences.
Meanwhile, a truck driver started his year on the wrong side of the law, caught with drugs in his system, unlicensed and with an outstanding warrant.
Police intercepted the 50-year-old Balranald man north-bound on the Murray Valley Highway, south of Swan Hill, about 8.40am on January 1.
An oral fluid test returned positive to amphetamines.
“Further checks on the driver revealed he was unlicensed and had an outstanding bench warrant,” a police spokesperson said.
He was arrested and taken to the Swan Hill police station where he was bailed to appear at court at a later date.
Swan Hill police inspector Gerard de Vries said he was “reasonably pleased” with the behaviour of road users during the festive period.
“We still need to warn people that our roads are in poor condition as a result of the floods and spring rainfall, so people need to take care when out and about,” he said.
“Drive to the conditions. There have been a number of offences detected including drink driving and high speed, but given the number of people around, it’s been pretty good.”
