Inspector Darren Hopkins
Tasmania Police have warned motorists not to be complacent despite the end of the official Christmas-New Year road blitz, Operation Crossroads.
Three people died on Tasmanian roads over the holiday period.
Inspector Darren Hopkins warned drivers to remain vigilant and said yesterday there would still be as many patrols on the roads this weekend as holidaymakers headed home.
``People shouldn't relax because the operation has finished,'' Inspector Hopkins said. ``There will still be the same number of operations and number of officers out there.''
He said statistics from the operation showed motorists were getting the message about drink-driving and there had been a decline by almost 30 people caught on previous years, yet drug-taking and speeding were still two areas the police had to combat.
Of a total of 31,338 random breath tests conducted by police over the duration of the operation from December 23 to January 3, 115 people were found to be over the .05 blood alcohol limit.
Inspector Hopkins said it was good to see the message was getting through, but there had been an increase in the number of people caught with illicit drugs in their system. A total of 174 drug tests were conducted over the duration of the operation and 26 people had a positive reading.
He said police doubled the number of drug oral fluid tests.
However, he said speeding continued to be the major concern, with 1071 motorists picked up on roads around the state, particularly on the Bass and Midland highways.
Three drivers were caught travelling on the Midland Highway at more than 130km/h and one caught doing 95km/h in a 60km/h zone.
Inspector Hopkins said either through a combination of inattention or speeding, a number of motorists had also been caught by the police high-visibility sign that warned drivers to slow down.
Other offences detected:
Licence (including disqualified, suspended, etc.): 186 drivers.
Traffic infringement notices issued: 1499.
Vehicles clamped or confiscated: 22.