At the conclusion of the Labour Day weekend’s statewide police operation at midnight on Monday, South Coast police were relieved the region’s road toll remained at zero.

Sergeant Adam Kite, supervisor of the South Coast Police District Highway Patrol Command, said drivers were generally well-behaved over the four days of Operation SlowDown.

He said double demerits discouraged unsafe driving.

The campaign saw officers out in force, targeting reckless driving behaviours, including speeding, drink-driving and mobile phone use.

Across the South Coast, officers conducted more than 5,900 random breath tests, issued 100 speeding infringements and handed out 155 tickets for mobile phone use, p-plate offences and unregistered and uninsured vehicles.

There were five drink-driving offences and three drug-driving offences over the four days, Sergeant Kite said.

Despite many well-behaved motorists, police were concerned to catch one driver more than 45 km/h over the speed limit and several p-platers more than 20 km/h over the limit.

“Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a continuing trend and it all comes back to that sense of invincibility,” he said.

“But with double demerits, we are seeing a noticeable decrease in speeding offences.

“You generally see a big downward trend in offences when double demerits come into force.”

Sergeant Kite said officers across the district were pleased to see many safe drivers, especially with heavier than usual traffic.

“Considering there was quite an influx of people, combined with school holidays, it wasn’t actually too bad,” Sergeant Kite said.

“On the whole, considering the AFL and NRL grand finals, generally the behaviour on the roads was quite good.

“From a Highway Patrol perspective, the guys would much prefer to not give out any tickets, but it’s just an educational thing. With the double demerits, I think the message is slowly starting to sink in.

“Any long weekend we can get through without anyone being injured or killed is a good one.”