The numbers account for almost half of drug or alcohol impaired drivers detected by police in Eastern Region Division Three, which takes in the greater Shepparton, Mitchell and Benalla local government areas.
During Operation Roadwise, police conducted 765 breath tests in the Shepparton area.
Eastern Region Division Three saw 28 drink or drug drivers detected, with the offences coming after police conducted 5928 breath tests during the operation.
The total number of driving offences was 87.
Eastern Region Division Three highway patrol Acting Senior Sergeant Shaun Hillier said Shepparton’s drink and drug drivers were high compared to the rest of division.
“Shepparton is quite often over-represented in regards to drug driving, given Shepparton is a small area in ED3 (Eastern Region Division Three),” he said.
“It’s disappointing people are using drugs, then driving.”
Sen Sgt Hillier said the high number of drivers caught was also due to more Shepparton police now trained to do drug tests, therefore more tests being conducted than ever before.
Three people died in road crashes in Eastern Region Division Three during the operation, with a man dying in a crash at Katunga on Christmas Day and two Yarrawonga men, aged 30 and 36, losing their lives in an accident at Chiltern on Boxing Day.
In the entire Eastern Region policing area — which makes up about one-third of Victoria and stretches from the Murray River in the north to the ocean in the south, and as far across as a few kilometres south of Heathcote, to the NSW border in the east — saw 2284 offences detected.
These included 96 drivers caught driving on disqualified licences and a further 96 driving unlicensed.
A total of 758 drivers were caught driving at between 10 and 25km above the speed limit, and a total of 45 vehicles were impounded.
A further 205 drivers were either caught either drug or drink driving from 31,725 breath tests and 933 drug tests conducted.
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