Operation NEXUS involves all available officers hitting the roads from Thursday to Monday. 

Horsham Highway Patrol Acting Sergeant Heath Martin said the operation would hone in on fatigued, reckless and impaired motorists.

“We want to increase awareness of drivers’ journey planning,” he said. 

“We’re looking at fatigue – ensuring people are taking breaks, sharing the driving and using driver reviver locations. We are also looking at dangerous driver behaviour such as high-speed driving and impaired driving – so people impaired by drugs and alcohol.”

Acting Sergeant Martin said expected the volume of traffic travelling through the region to increase dramatically from Thursday. 

“We’ll have all available highway patrol and general duty police on the road, 24 hours a day,” he said. 

Acting Sergeant Martin said one of the biggest issues the highway patrol witnessed was risky behaviour from motorists. 

“This includes people getting impatient when the roads get busy,” he said. 

“It also includes dangerous overtaking – people getting impatient behind a slower caravan, people overtaking on double lines and then once they get around increasing the speed to well above the speed limit.” 

Acting Sergeant Martin said it was important motorists planned their journeys ahead of the Easter weekend. 

“Give yourself plenty of time – particularly at the start or the end of the long weekend,” he said. 

“Take plenty of rests and if you’re going to drink, don’t drive. If you’re going to drive, don’t drink.”