Sarah Schwager
PEOPLE wanting to avoid getting caught by booze buses in Dandenong this weekend should think twice before drinking and driving.
Police will target drinkdrivers in Operation Rat Run, in which a mini booze bus will be set up at various streets in Dandenong tonight (Thursday), tomorrow night and Saturday night.
Dandenong Traffic Management Unit Senior Sergeant Alan Dew said police would be targeting small streets that linked main roads around licensed premises.
The booze bus used is a small Mercedes truck about a third of the size of the main units. It is highly movable and takes less time to set up, which means it can be moved between four or five different sites each night.
Sen Sgt Dew said because the booze bus was owned by Region 5 rather than the Transport Accident Commission, police did not have to worry about setting up at sites that had a high volume of traffic. He said the mini booze bus could manoeuvre narrow streets, so drivers would not be safe by avoiding main roads such as Springvale Road and Princes Highway, where booze buses were normally set up.
“This operation will reinforce that if you drink and drive you’re a bloody idiot, even if you use the back roads,” he said.
Sen Sgt Dew said the mini booze bus would become a regular part of the police’s bid to catch drink drivers in Dandenong in the future.
A DANDENONG man was arrested following the assault of another man at a Dandenong restaurant last week.
The man was kicked and punched in the head in the back of the restaurant in Thomas Street about 2pm on 25 September and received head injuries. He was taken to Dandenong Hospital and released the next day with fractures to the face.
A 19yearold man was arrested and released on summons with charges pending.
Any witnesses are urged to contact Detective Sergeant Dean Hayes at Dandenong CIU on 9767 7487.
