South-west police prepare for phase two of Operation Compass

The warning comes after the first phase of Operation Compass - a road safety blitz over the Easter long weekend that detected over 240 offences in western region division two (Warrnambool, Corangamite, Moyne, Glenelg and Southern Grampians). A 30-year-old South Australian man died after he crashed into a tree at Greenwald.

South-west road safety adviser Senior Sergeant Matt Wheeler said road fatalities were difficult for everyone involved.

"Any time that this happens, it's very disappointing," he said.

"We are out there working hard to prevent these type of incidents so we're urging everybody to slow down, make sure they're not distracted and doing the speed limit."

Senior Sergeant Wheeler said the two-phase road operation kicked off at midnight on April 14 and will run through to midnight on April 25.

"In the first phase we detected 244 offences across the division, which included 10 drug or alcohol-affected drivers," he said.

READ MORE: Four motorists clocked at excessive speeds in three days

He said 3109 people underwent preliminary breath tests, including more than 1000 in the Corangamite region as part of a targeted response to three-day music festival Inner Varnika.

He said 78 people were drug-tested, of which two returned a positive result to cannabis or MDMA.

"There was a substantial police presence around the Corangamite region because of the festival and a result there were three people detected unlicensed, 62 speeding tickets issued, three seat belts noncompliance, and two motorists on their mobile phone," Senior Sergeant Wheeler said.

He said police would continue to saturate the region's roads this weekend.

"We will be out there conducting speed enforcement and testing as many people we can for impaired driving," he said.

"When you get a speeding or impaired driver, it's a danger to the safety of the whole community."

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