WITH more than 200 speeding infringements issued in the past eight days, the advice from police is simple.
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Slow down.
In conjunction with Bathurst SuperFest, NSW Police has a massive traffic operation underway with the simple aim of keeping people safe on our roads.
Macquarie Chifley Police Districts Traffic Inspector Ben Macfarlane said the operation is about midway through, having started on February 15.
"The operation complements the Chifley PD response to crime and traffic," he said.
Inspector Macfarlane said the traffic operation was in response to a big influx of people and vehicles in Bathurst.
"The operation started for the 12 Hour and it runs through to February 26, with those two weekends the main focus," he said.
He said people can expect to see police everywhere.
"We are averaging eight visiting highway patrol staff from Sydney a day and over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we are ramping that up to 14, including the random drug testing bus we have set up on the highway."
The mobile bus, normally stationed in Sydney, came to Bathurst especially for SuperFest.
As for how drivers have behaved since the operation began, it's a mixed bag.
"There's been no serious road crimes and crashes are right down," Inspector Macfarlane said.
"All the extra police tend to suppress crashes.
"But we are still seeing a lot of speeding offences: it's up around 200 infringements now for speeding, which is a fair few.
"There have also been a lot of positive oral fluid tests, which is a bit concerning.
"We are at 11 traffic charges now and seven of those are positive oral fluids.
"Remember, these are illegal drugs we are testing for, so you can't consume them, let alone drive with them in your system.
"But other than that, generally people have been pretty compliant."
Inspector Macfarlane said police want to maintain that focus on road safety so everyone can come and join the event without fear of a tragic outcome.
"Extra police allows us to spread our wings a little further across the area and suppress road trauma, which is still a concern.
"Unfortunately, the road toll is still climbing."
And with wet weather possibly on the radar, police want drivers to use caution.
"Please, factor that in," Inspector Macfarlane said.
"It's vital you leave more distance between yourself and the car in front and wipe at least 10 kilometres off your speed in the wet," he said.
