Police urge holiday caution on roads
Goldfields-Esperance traffic police are making no apologies for issuing infringements to drivers who flout the road rules during the Easter holiday period.
With the double demerit period already in place after kicking in at 12.01am today, acting Sergeant Russell Hurst said police would be out in force until the holiday period ended at midnight on Monday.
For the first time, police will issue double demerit points to motorists contravening red traffic-lights rules and drivers using mobile phones while driving.
Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey said the two offences had clear value as double-demerit offences and would be in effect in time for the Easter long weekend.
The two offences have been added to other infringements which have traditionally incurred extra points, namely drink or drug driving, failing to wear seatbelts and speeding.
"We know that both running red lights and using your mobile phone while driving are linked to fatal and serious crashes," she said.
"Our clear aim is to reduce the number of road crashes on WA roads - we don't want anybody to lose a loved one on our roads over the Anzac and Easter holidays."
Acting Sgt Hurst said the double-demerit offences would be key target areas for police for both weekends.
"Those things have been identified to us as the main causes of road trauma, so they're the ones we're going to be focusing on and they're the ones that are affected by the double demerits as well," he said.
"There is going to be a high presence of police on the highways and a high police presence around town - the likelihood of getting an infringement for those offences is going to be quite high.
"People are aware of it and people know that these things cause trauma so there's certainly no apologies in that respect.
"Provided you're doing the right thing, sticking by the speed limit and driving safely, you shouldn't have an issue."
Acting Sgt Hurst urged drivers planning to embark on long drives at the long weekend to be wary of driver fatigue and not exceed the speed limit.
"Take plenty of breaks, whether you take another half-hour to get somewhere," he said.
"Speed zones are very clear, people have just got to abide by them.
"As soon as you start exceeding those speeds you start putting your life at risk, you start putting other road users at risk and that's what we're trying to avoid - slow down, enjoy the drive - get there safely."
