The Victoria Police operation started on Friday morning and ended on Tuesday night. Horsham Highway Patrol detected two drug drivers and one drink driver during the operation.

Acting Sergeant Heath Martin said police stopped a 45-year-old Nhill man at Nhill on Saturday afternoon for a preliminary breath test.

“He returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.061, which was low but still over the limit,” he said.

The man received an infringement notice which includes a three month loss of licence.

Acting Sergeant Martin said the level of drink driving was at a lower level this year than last.

“However, drug driving is increasing which is a problem that is reflected in society and we will continue to test more drivers for drugs,” he said.

“Our capacity of the amount of drug tests we can perform has increased. We want to get the message out there to people that if a test comes back positive for illegal substances, that they will be charged.”

Police detected two drug drivers in the Wimmera on Sunday afternoon. The first was a 32-year-old Horsham man who was stopped on Albert Street, Horsham at 2.20pm.

“He took a drug test and illicit drugs were detected in his system. The man refused to accompany police to the station and he was charged on summons,” Acting Sergeant Martin said.

Police also stopped a 32-year-old South Australian man on the Western Highway at Pimpinio.

“The man underwent a drug test which returned a positive reading for illicit substances. He was required to accompany police to the station but refused. He will be be charged with refusing to accompany police, unlicensed driving and giving a false name,” he said.

The highest speed detected by Horsham Highway Patrol officers during the operation was 146 km/h on the Western Highway, Nhill. The driver, a 26-year-old Melbourne man, was issued an infringement notice and lost his licence for six months.

Acting Sergeant Martin said police were overall pleased with driver behaviour.

“Overall, the general traffic was well behaved and thankfully there weren’t any major collisions. It was noticeably busier on the roads on Friday and Saturday with many people travelling for holidays,” he said.

A total of 254 drink drivers and 215 drug drivers were detected throughout Victoria during the operation. Nearly 600 people were detected using mobile phones while behind the wheel and 241 were caught not wearing seatbelts.

More than 600 people were caught running red lights or disobeying other road safety signals and signs. Police made 127 vehicle impounds which was an increase from 90 during last year’s operation.