Police plea for holiday road safety

Police are impressing the importance of road safety over the festive season and how it is “a big deal”.

Manjimup police officer-in-charge Sgt Harry Arnott said police would have a dedicated traffic enforcement “all the time” over the holiday period.

“We really, really need people to drive safely, that’s important,” he said.

“People die on our roads, it does happen and it does have a devastating effect on the community.”

Sgt Arnott acknowledged the festive period could be a financially stressful time of year for families but urged people to think twice before driving.

“People who do get behind the wheel of a car under the influence of alcohol, drugs or the next day, while fatigued from the influence of alcohol or drugs, are putting themselves and their kids at risk,” he said.

He added there was an onus on community members to not only be careful on the roads, but to encourage others to do the same.

“I don’t want to spend my Christmas day knocking on someone’s door telling them their son, daughter, brother or sister is not coming home because he or she pushed the limits,” he said.

“I don’t want to do that and I don’t want to put the community through that, it’s not fair to the family or the community.”

Sgt Arnott also explained there had been some amendments to the Road Traffic Act on November 28, including some new offences.

Under the new offences, the supervising driver in charge of a learner driver must register less than 0.05g of alcohol, not be under the influence of drugs and can be punished with a court appearance.

“It you fail to comply, that’s 20 penalty units, which is $1000,” Sgt Arnott said.

Double demerits during the festive period will also be in effect.