Whether it be at the vineyards or on the slopes, revellers celebrating the Queen’s Birthday long weekend have been relatively well-behaved – bar a select few.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Police kept a keen eye on huge crowds at the Winery Walkabout, but only one person was detained – a 34-year-old, for public intoxication.
Rutherglen Sergeant Brian Curran said the proportion of incidents to people was low.
“We have had reports of drug use but no one has been charged,” he said.
“There’s been one arrest and several minor incidents; scuffles and the like, but all-in-all it went pretty well.”
Ski bunnies celebrating the opening weekend at Falls Creek were also well-behaved.
Leading Senior Constable Peter Johns said officers were conducting breath testing and snow chain enforcement as part of Operation Regal.
“We’ve done over 100 breath tests but no one has been over the limit, and a high percentage are carrying snow chains,” he said.
North of the Murray River, Albury Highway Patrol conducted 2085 breath tests across the local area command in the first two days of Operation Stay Alert and detected only three offences.
Sergeant Matt Zemaitis said overall it was a pleasing result, with two low and mid range readings recorded at Corowa and one special range PCA charge in Albury.
“At 12.56 am on Sunday, an 18-year-old female stopped on Wright Street for a random breath test produced a provisional drivers licence and failed the roadside breath test … she recorded a reading of 0.027,” he said.
“It’s disappointing three people have run the risk, but if you look at the percentage overall, people are heeding our advice.”
Sergeant Zemaitis said 121 infringement notices were issued for other offences – 57 for speeding, including a 40-year-old man who was caught at 54 kilometres over the limit on the Hume Highway near Holbrook.
“The main thing for us is we’ve had no fatal or serious injury collisions,” he said.
“In saying that, the operation is not over and we will continue to monitor both main arterial and back roads to ensure people are complying with the road rules.”