Wheatbelt lockdown to cut road carnage
Police last night launched an attempt to save lives on WA roads with an unprecedented "lockdown" of 13 Wheatbelt towns with the deadliest roads.
The Wheatbelt had the worst road toll of any WA region last year with 49 people killed or seriously injured.
Supt Peter Halliday, a Wheatbelt local, said he was shocked at the suffering in the region, with the flow-on effects from car crashes running deep into the community.
Of 26 fatalities, about two-thirds were Wheatbelt residents, often on secondary and back roads.
Supt Halliday said though the Wheatbelt was one of the safest places in WA when it came to crime, that changed the moment local people jumped in their cars.
"When they are walking down the street or sitting in their home, they are in a very safe place but that changes entirely when they get in their car and start driving, then they are in one of the most dangerous places in the State," Supt Halliday said.
"This is not talked about. As the Wheatbelt community, we need to start that conversation."
Per capita road deaths in the region equate to 49.9 per 100,000 people.
The next closest district is the Great Southern with 27.6 fatalities per 100,000 residents.
The lockdowns involved 113 local and Perth-based officers who breath and drug-tested anyone driving in or out of the 13 towns.
Supt Halliday said last night that a number of drivers had been caught with alcohol or drugs in their system during the lockdown.
A mother of three blew twice the legal blood alcohol limit when she was picking up her children from a school in York.
Police charged the woman with excess 0.08 and for driving without a valid licence.
A woman tested for drugs in Northam returned her fourth positive drug test in as many months.
More than 200 drivers were pulled over in Toodyay and Bakers Hill. Two drivers were caught driving over the alcohol limit.
