Easter traffic campaign: police to target holiday makers

This Easter long weekend, WA Police will use covert cameras and radar equipped motorcycles as part of a traffic blitz targeting popular holiday spots.

Extra traffic resources have been sent to regional WA ahead of the expected exodus of thousands of Easter holiday makers.

To support the traffic enforcement capacity of local police, booze buses, marked and unmarked patrol cars, motorcycles, and covert hoon and long range cameras have been sent to key regional roads.

Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan approved the use of an additional six speed cameras outside the metropolitan area to monitor traffic heading to popular holiday spots.

Some motorcycles will be fitted with mobile speed radar as part of a new trial.

“With such high traffic volumes over a short period of time, Easter poses a particular challenge with a disproportionate number of the fatal and critical injury crashes in regional WA,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“Last Easter despite our increased traffic enforcement effort, there were three people killed and three critically injured in five crashes, four of them in country locations.

“This long weekend there will be a further boost to that commitment with a focus on speed and impaired driving but two of the biggest killers, distracted driving and inattention, are virtually impossible to police.”

Mr O’Callaghan said there have been 46 road fatalities this year and 34 have been in regional WA.

Many of the crashes have been attributed to motorists ignoring safe driving messages.

“We can increase the number of speed cameras and patrols on the roads but it will actually take an enormous effort from the driving community to have a fatality free Easter long weekend,” he said.

The Easter traffic enforcement campaign will push extra resources into the South West, Great Southern, Wheatbelt and the Midwest Gascoyne Districts to target unsafe road-user behaviour.

Double demerit points apply from midnight tonight.