8 April 2015 – Operation Crossroads

MEDIA ADVISORY: Road safety still not registering with some over Easter

CEO of ANZPAA, Jon White announced today the final figures from the Australia and New Zealand road safety operation, Operation Crossroads, which police jurisdictions held over the Easter holiday period.

Over the five day operation, almost 690,000 road users were tested for alcohol and nearly 6,000 drivers were screened for drugs. Of those tested for alcohol, 1,485 were charged with drink driving offences. Of those drivers screened for drugs, 11 per cent tested positive, which is double the amount of drug driving offences detected over the Easter 2014 period.

“Results from this year’s cross-jurisdictional operation show that some road users continue to demonstrate a disregard for road safety. Disappointingly, we are still seeing too many poor decisions by road users reflected in the data despite the continued efforts of police across Australia and New Zealand. Making our roads safer is everyone’s responsibility and everyone must play their part if we are to bring road trauma down,” says Jon White.

Operation Crossroads is an initiative of Police Commissioners in Australia and New Zealand to reduce road trauma over the holiday periods by raising awareness of road safety issues, in particular targeting the ‘Fatal Five’ causes – drink/drug driving, speeding, fatigue, distraction and not wearing seatbelts.

Number of Total
Breath tests administered 687,546
Drink driving offences 1,485
Drug tests administered 5,853
Drug tests positive* 630
Licence offences 3,136
Traffic infringement notices (TOTAL)**

Of total, this includes the following offences:

• seatbelt infringements

• mobile phone use infringements 39,060

1,152

1,211
Speeding offences 20,119
Vehicle impoundments/Immobilisation*** 474

The Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) is the agency that serves Police Commissioners in Australia and New Zealand.

*Where provided for in jurisdictional legislation.

** Traffic Infringement Notices include all traffic related offences. Seatbelt and mobile phone related infringements are highlighted as these are related to the “Fatal Five”.

*** The definitions for vehicle impoundments differ within jurisdictions; some also include immobilisation under this category. The reporting against this category was at the discretion of each jurisdiction based on their definition.

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Notes to the Editor:

Operation Crossroads (2 April 2015 – 6 April 2015) is a joint initiative of Police Commissioners across Australia and New Zealand. The operation seeks to reduce road trauma by raising awareness of road safety issues, in particular the ‘big five’ – drink/drug driving, speeding, fatigue, distraction and seatbelts. Operation Crossroads supports the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety which was launched in May 2011.

To find out more information on Operation Crossroads please visit www.anzpaa.org.au

For road safety statistics please go to www.anzpaa.org.au

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