By CASEY NEILL
“IT STARTS with you.”
That’s the message from Greater Dandenong Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant Scott Roberts ahead of an Easter road safety blitz.
He warned drivers to take responsibility for their own actions or risk getting caught – or worse.
“The worst that can happen to you is not so much getting popped by us and losing your licence, it’s being responsible for seriously injuring or killing yourself or someone else,” Sen Sgt Roberts said.
The blitz will run from 15 to 27 April and target speeding drivers, running lights, texting and drink-driving.
“When you’ve got police cars out there, for those drivers out there doing the right thing, it’s reassuring,” he said.
“And for those doing the wrong thing it should act as a deterrent.”
Sen Sgt Roberts urged drivers to allow extra time to reach their destination, err on the side of safety and not drive if they have a few drinks, and to leave their mobile phone alone.
“It’s all about non-selfish behaviours,” he said.
“If you get cut off in traffic, don’t worry about it.
“Don’t answer the phone. People get badly injured or killed from people talking on phones.
“People are too selfish to take the time to pull over.
“I’ve seen it myself and it’s not pretty.”
He said the current penalty for using a mobile phone while driving is a $433 fine and four demerit points.
“It just seems more prevalent than it was,” he said.
“People aren’t getting the message, and it’s not just restricted to young people.”
Sen Sgt Roberts said the operation was under the umbrella of three-month road policing campaign to tackle an increase in the road toll, Road to Zero.
“One of the things that this campaign seeks to reinforce in everyone is that it starts with you,” he said.
“It’s every individual’s responsibility to ensure the roads are safer.
“It’s a case of parents talking to kids about road trauma and really trying to ram it home with them.”
