Nearly 70 people in Ballarat nabbed in Australia Day road operation

An Australia Day police operation focusing on unauthorized drivers has resulted in nearly 70 fines being handed out in Ballarat.

Operation Amity, using high-tech ANPR number plate recognition equipment, has snapped up 18 banned road users ranging from obsolete registration to disqualification.

A total of 64 violations were recorded in the Ballarat service area over the five days of operation, with speeding drivers accounting for nearly half of those findings.

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Some drivers who showed blatant disregard for their drinking were pulled off the road.

A man who was driving on Howitt Street on Friday and stopped when he was spotted with his phone blew a 0.177 readout, while that same night a woman stopped by Ballarat Police blew a terrifying 0.296.

Ballarat Senior Sergeant Paul Maslunka was stunned by the offence.

“.296 – that’s a ridiculously high number. It is almost 6 times the legal limit. She will be tried at a later date.”

A driver was also found to endanger a small child.

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A 74-year-old man with a child in the car has snapped more than 30 Kays over the limit on Geelong Road in Mt Helen.

Senior Sergeant Paul Maslunka says he even had the nerve to ask for a warning.

“He was approached by the police. The driver proved that while good judgment was not his forte, his good driving experience did not mean he lacked confidence when asking for a warning.”

Maslunka said the community would have been just as outraged as he was if the driver had been given leniency.

The official Operation Amity offenses at Ballarat Rest Areas are as follows:

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4 drunk drivers

1 drug driver

6 disqualified drivers

1 driver without a license

31 speeding violations

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7 disobey signs/signals

2 seat belt violations

1 cell phone crime

8 unauthorized vehicles

3 seizures

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0 cyclist offences