News
8 December, 2023
Police blitz underway
Queensland Police began its major Christmas road safety operation last week, with a strong focus on drink and drug driving during the party season.
The annual Christmas road safety campaign named Operation Victor Mistletoe was launched last Thursday, with police rolling out traffic enforcement operations.
Extra police will be out in force across Queensland’s highways and road networks in an eff ort to make sure everyone makes it home safe over the holidays.
With more than 250 people having lost their lives on Queensland roads this year, the concentrated operations were brought forward a week to target end-of-year celebrations in the lead-up to Christmas.
Police are urging party-goers planning on drinking to also plan their trip home accordingly without putting themselves and others in danger.
The Queensland Police Service will conduct Operation Victor Mistletoe until January 25 2024, involving a range of strategies to target motorists speeding, drink and drug driving, driving distracted or not wearing a seatbelt.
Police Minister Mark Ryan said December was typically filled with special events where family, colleagues or friends celebrated together.
“We urge all road users heading out to celebrations or travelling on road trips to plan ahead and don’t take risks,” he said.
“The message is simple: if you are planning on drinking – do not plan to drive.
“One life lost on our roads is one too many and we do not want to see any further tragedies, particularly at Christmas.
“Queenslanders can expect to see more police out and about on our roads conducting random breath tests and targeting drivers doing the wrong thing.”
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Chris Stream, said too many lives had been lost on the roads as a direct result of someone selfishly making the wrong decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“We want every single road user including car drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooter riders, motorcyclists and truck drivers to take a moment to ensure they are all making safe decisions this festive period,” he said.
“We have rolling police operations planned across the road networks where officers will be conducting random breath tests, drug tests, speed detection and general road enforcement.
“Expect to see us anywhere, anytime.”
