NSW Police Easter blitz results in hundreds of offences across Western Region

Police in the Western Region dished out more more than 850 infringements across the weekend as part of Easter Operation 2021, with speeding offences making up more than 86 per cent of those in one of the first major blitzes since COVID-19 restrictions eased.

Cops also caught and punished motorists for 12 mobile phone infringements and 67 restraint infringements, with 14,910 breath tests carried out also resulting in 39 drink driving charges as well. Police also conducted 43 drug tests across the region as well.

With 22 major accidents across the region resulting in seven people injured Western Region traffic inspector, Acting Inspector David Thomas called out motorists for dangerous driving behaviours and urged people to 'have a think about it'.

Fortunately, there was no lives lost in the region.

"They're not going to get away with it, and it's going to have dramatic affects on their life," he said.

"We're still coming across people travelling at absolutely excessive speeds, and we're still coming across people who are drink-driving and who are drug-driving.

"Despite all the media, and despite all the attention that its been given, and despite all the high-profile highway patrol and police on the roads, people still think they can do it and get away with it.

"The reason why we target drink driving and drug driving, is they're overrepresented in fatal accidents.

"Twenty-five per cent of people involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents are found to have drugs in their system. So we're basically trying to get to them before they have an accident.

"In Summer, people go to the coast, around Easter it's the last chance for people to go camping and go out hunting, and they all come out west.

"So we have a lot of traffic movement and that was represented in what our offences are, but overall we were pretty happy."

There was number of major incidents in the region, including a 45-year-old man in Orange who was caught drink driving on Friday at almost five times the legal limit.

Police received a tip-off about the man, who then failed a roadside breath test and was taken to Orange Police Station for breath analysis where he returned a reading of 0.228.

At about 8.30am on Sunday police patrolling between Yeoval and Wellington stopped a vehicle, before taking the 40-year-old male driver to Wellington Police Station where he returned a positive alcohol reading of 0.184.

The same day, police spotted a vehicle travelling at 174km/h on a 100 zone on the Castlereagh Highway. The driver was issued with an infringement for exceeding a speed over 45km/h and had their licence suspended for six months.

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