As part of Operation Safer Southern, officers have been targeting intersections, speed, the use of safety belts and cellphones, and drink and drug driving. All drivers stopped were breath-tested. The operation was launched yesterday morning, when regular police officers joined other road safety officers to target driving behaviour across Otago and Southland.
District police attended 2724 road crashes for the year ending July 2013, and 19 people died from 18 of those crashes, Acting Southern district road policing manager Senior Sergeant Steve Larking said.
''Operation Safer Southern highlights our commitment to reducing road trauma in our patch, and it's likely further similar operations will be held in the future,'' he said.
While the operation ended in some places this morning, it would continue in other areas throughout the weekend.
