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FRIDAY, September 29, 2023
Weekend Edition
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LET’S GO BEST mates Dylan Shepard (left) and Harry Verdon will be locking horns tomorrow as Dylan’s Lions and Harry’s Magpies battle it out for the AFL premiership, where no mercy in vocal barbs and boasting to be shared upon the loser. Story page 4. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling
Reflections on our former Premier Dan Page 3
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FATALITY FREE Police crackdown on drug, g, drink driving g hoping p g to keep p AFL Grand Final weekend...
POLICE have begun a major crackdown on drink and drug driving throughout the state to as they try and keep the AFL Grand Final long weekend fatality free. As part of Operation Scoreboard, which formally began yesterday, police are carrying out widespread roadside alcohol and drug testing throughout the extended break, adopting
BY RYAN MALCOLM rmalcolm@ nemedia.com.au
a zero tolerance approach for those driving under the influence. It comes as the number of lives lost on Victorian roads has soared to a seven-year high, with 210
fatalities to date in 2023, 27 more than the same time last year. Some 17 motorists have been killed so far this year on roads within the Wangaratta Police Service Area, which includes Wangaratta, Moira and Alpine shires. Four of the collisions have occurred within the rural city, with at least one linked
to the alleged intoxication of a driver ahead of a crash which killed two people near Greta Road. Provisional police analysis of fatal collisions across the state so far this year has indicated drugs and alcohol are the second and third-highest contributing factors to fatalities, with speed remaining the highest.
More than half of this year’s fatalities have also been attributed to low-level non-compliance, such as lower levels of speeding and drink driving, distraction and failing to obey road signs. Wangaratta Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant David Gillespie said speed, alcohol and drug driving would be key concerns for police
throughout the weekend. “We find at this time of year people are celebrating the grand final, they’re celebrating the changing of the weather and they’re likely to get out and about and potentially there’s a risk there of excess consumption of alcohol and using drugs when driving,” he said. ■ Continued page 2