ACT police say they will be cracking down on speeding over the Anzac Day long weekend after several high-range incidents in recent weeks.
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Events overnight in Victoria where four police officers were killed on the roadside after stopping a speeding driver has led to ACT police invoking a strict "no tolerance" approach to speeding in the days and the long weekend ahead.
ACT head of traffic operations, Detective Sergeant Marcus Boorman, who served with Victoria Police for 16 years before joining the Australian Federal Police, admitted the tragic incident on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway had had a personal and unsettling effect on him.
"Having been an ex-Victorian police officer and having a lot of friends down there, my heart goes out to them," he said.
"I've got a lot of good friends and colleagues working down there and to be honest, it takes a toll on you personally.
"The whole policing family is feeling it now."
On Wednesday evening, two Victorian police officers had stopped the Porsche driver, who had been speeding at 140km/h on the freeway, and had been joined a short time later in the breakdown lane by two more highway patrol officers at the scene.
A large refrigerated truck then inexplicably veered into the breakdown lane and struck the three stationary vehicles.
The Porsche driver fled the scene on foot but later handed himself into police.
Detective Station Sergeant Marcus Boorman said the incident was also a salient reminder to Canberra motorists of the legal requirement for all motorists to slow to 40km/h when they see an emergency vehicle by the side of the road with its lights activated.
"This is also a reminder of the law in relation to the safe passing of emergency vehicles and the 40km/h speed limit which applies in those situations," he said.
"It is a reality that when a police officer is standing by the side of the road, they put their life on the line every time they get out of the car.
"People have just got to pay attention and slow down."
While roads have been quieter around the ACT due to coronavirus restrictions, officer in charge of traffic operations, Detective Station Sergeant Marcus Boorman, said in many incidents drivers had been clocked at more than double the speed limit.
"We acknowledge that the COVID-19 situation is stressful and there's less traffic, that doesn't mean roads in the ACT become a personal racetrack," he said.
In one case, a 25-year-old Curtin man had been seen riding a motorcycle at 200km/h in a 90km/h zone on Majura Road last Saturday.
The driver had never held a driver's licence and was fined $1841 for speeding, $675 for unlicensed riding and was given six demerit points.
Meanwhile, a Gilmore woman had been booked driving 152km/h in an 80km/h zone on Horse Park Drive on Friday.
A further two motorcycle riders had been fined after they were seen travelling at 149km/h on the Barton Highway.
The number of drivers in the ACT caught driving more than 45km/h over the speed limit in April stands at 11, compared with three in the same month last year.
The number of people caught driving between 30km/h and 45km/h over the speed limit has risen from seven in April 2019 to 26 in this April.
One ACT police traffic team issued 52 infringements for exceeding the speed limit in just four days, nine of them more than 45km/h over the limit.
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ACT police say there will be a high-visibility operation on Canberra roads over the long weekend focusing on stopping speeding.
However, there won't be double demerits during that time.
Detective Station Sergeant Boorman said he was disgusted by the number of high-range speeding incidents.
"There is simply no excuse for speeding," he said.
"It's idiotic, it's irresponsible, and worst of all, its dangerous."
As with the Easter long weekend period, police will be patrolling major roads and highways heading out of the ACT to stop unnecessary travel and people going on holidays to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
"We're all responsible for stopping the spread of coronavirus, and for every interaction with motorists we will be advising and educating them in the need to stay home and we will be out on major highways," Detective Station Sergeant Boorman said.
"But the primary responsibility is to focus on stopping speeding and hopefully we can keep the Anzac Day long weekend fatality free."