After a horrific 2016 on the roads, highway patrol officers were out in force on Australia Day and the following unofficial long weekend, which many people took off work.

More than 160 drivers were busted for various offences across the Wodonga and Wangaratta long service areas, but police said it was expected due to the extra attention.

Ten speeding drivers in Wodonga and 98 in Wangaratta were fined during Operation Amity between Wednesday and Sunday.

Wodonga also had two drink drivers, four drug drivers and eight people in unregistered vehicles, while Wangaratta had six drink drivers, three drug drivers and 15 people in unregistered vehicles.

North of the border, Albury police said they were also “remarkably quiet” during Operation Safe Return, running over the same period, and bucked the trend of rising offences across NSW.

A couple of drink drivers were caught, but there were no drug drivers or major crashes.

Wodonga Sergeant Cameron Roberts said the Hume Freeway was very busy during the five-day operation so he was pleased to come out of the holiday period without a fatal crash.

“We didn’t need to go in the same vein as 2016 (when 21 people died on North East roads),” he said.

“The previous crashes we’ve had in this region has put us on the radar to get some extra resources.” Victorian State Highway Patrol members were also sent to the North East.

NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol’s Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said the message that speeding kills was not getting through.

“We will continue to take people off the roads who can’t stay within the speed limit,” he said. “If people can’t learn to slow down, the unfortunate reality is that hundreds more people will die this year on our roads.”

Police will turn their attention to the school year and ensuring parents and children use the designated parking and crossing points.

“”We will be focusing on school zones in the near future,” Sergeant Roberts said.

“I’ve seen examples that just leave me scratching my head.”