Operation Whiskey Nitrox Boosts Wide Bay Burnett Road Safety

Police have saturated roads across the Wide Bay Burnett district as part of Operation Whiskey Nitrox, which concludes today, July 19.

During the three-day targeted traffic operation, local police partnered with the Road Policing Task Force, Queensland Transport and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, to work towards ultimately reducing the number of lives lost, or injured, on Queensland roads.

From July 17 to 19, Operation Whiskey Nitrox saturated the roads, focusing on life endangering offences like speed, impaired driving, fatigue, mobile phone use, not wearing seatbelts, vehicle compliance and roadworthiness, and heavy vehicle offences.

As part of the road safety blitz, police, along with transport and heavy vehicle inspectors, were on our roads, stopping vehicles, talking with drivers and taking action, when needed, to strengthen the safety of road users.

During the first two days of the operation, police completed more than 3,030 RBTs and more than 165 roadside drug tests, resulting in one drink driver and 21 positive drug drivers.

Police also issued more than 210 Traffic Infringement Notices (TINs) and more than 115 TINs for speeding.

Police continued targeted operations today.

After losing two lives on the roads in North Coast Region this week, as of July 18, we have now lost 159 people on Queensland roads so far this year, with 15 of those in the Wide Bay Burnett district.

North Coast Region Assistant Commissioner Glenn Morris said enough is enough.

"Each live lost is one too many," Assistant Commissioner Morris said.

"We do not want to see families continue to go through the pain of losing a loved one so I plead with all road users to be aware of the risks and how to reduce them.

"In a bid to address our concerns, initiatives like Operation Whiskey Nitrox are so important and provide such value to our work in strengthening road safety in our community.

"It is up to every driver to ensure that they drive responsibly and with care and consideration for themselves, their passengers and all other road users."

Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Pilotto said generally the people in our car are people we love and care about the most. That is why we implore drivers to join with us and make road safety a priority.

"This is not a one-off operation, but the latest in an ongoing road safety strategy, aimed at saving lives on our roads in Queensland," Acting Assistant Commissioner Pilotto said.

"After its trial in the Wide Bay Burnett district, Operation Whiskey Nitrox will continue to deploy to other districts across the state.

"We're here to reinforce the district's zero-tolerance policy towards dangerous driving, targeting speeding, fatigue, seatbelt use, driver distraction, driving while impaired and vehicle safety standards."

This follows successful operations Whiskey Annex and Cold Snap in the district.

Between April 1 and June 20, Operation Whiskey Annex targeted road trauma on the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Gin Gin.

The operation saw an extra 281 officers deployed on the Bruce Highway, totalling 1,217 hours over 15 days during the 3-month period, with police issuing almost 700 enforcement notices, 27 charges and 26 defective vehicle notices.

During Operation Cold Snap, June 22 to July 8, Wide Bay Burnett police issued more than 500 TINs and breath tested more than 6,000 drivers.

The two-week road safety blitz, which coincided with the school holidays, included roadside breath testing, stationary observation, and overt and covert patrols along highways and major road corridors.

Police issued more than 505 TINs, including five for mobile phone use, five for not wearing a seatbelt and more than 225 for speeding.

Police also conducted more than 6,390 breath tests and found 33 drug drivers and 46 drink drivers.

"For us, it isn't about the results, but reducing the lives lost on our roads is always our primary motivation," Acting Assistant Commissioner Pilotto said.

"Please, drive safely."