By admin 
Sandstorm isn’t only a nice tune by Darude, it’s additionally the identify of a police operation on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast that focused reckless driving at Noosa North Shore and noticed virtually 300 fines issued.
Queensland Police Service (QPS) officers issued 272 visitors infringement notices (TINs) throughout an eight-day interval together with the Easter and Labour Day lengthy weekends, with all people from drug-users to oldsters with unrestrained youngsters caught up within the operation.
A 19-year-old Wynnum West P-plater copped 5 TINs for a complete of $6400 in fines and 16 demerit factors, after he was allegedly discovered to be driving a faulty automobile inebriated and – like his two passengers – not sporting a seatbelt.
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A 27-year-old Newtown man was additionally stung for a number of infringements, receiving eight demerit factors and $2200 in fines for consuming alcohol whereas driving “in a means that makes pointless noise or smoke” and never sporting a seatbelt.
A 38-year-old Mooloolaba man was fined for driving his automobile whereas a baby below the age of 4 was sitting unrestrained on a passenger’s lap, costing him $1209 and 4 demerit factors.
Of the 2356 random breath exams performed as a part of Operation Sandstorm, seven yielded optimistic outcomes. Of the 195 random drug exams performed, 10 folks had been discovered to be driving below the affect of medication equivalent to hashish, methamphetamine and cocaine.
“A profitable deployment to Noosa North Shore for us is one with out crashes or deaths – that’s what we depend as a great end result,” Appearing Senior Sergeant Keith Preston mentioned.
“It’s disappointing to see so many individuals proceed to have such disregard for the protection of themselves, their passengers and the opposite highway and seaside customers by driving in a harmful method and in harmful automobiles.
“It’s a privilege to drive on the seaside and we have to deal with it as we’d driving on the highway.
“Little question our presence on the seaside, enforcement motion and academic engagements corrected the behaviours of many individuals and supplied a safer atmosphere for all folks, households and youngsters utilizing the seaside.”
Whereas driving on the seaside isn’t allowed in Victoria, there are a number of seashores in Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia the place autos have entry.
South Australia is tightening up its legal guidelines, although it says it has no intention to ban all autos on its seashores.
A examine by the College of the Sunshine Coast has discovered 4x4s are inflicting “unequivocal critical and widespread harm” to coastal dune ecosystems, with its lead writer saying there’s no “protected stage” of seaside driving.
The Queensland Authorities has beforehand mentioned it has no plan to ban driving on seashores within the Sunshine State, although the native council in Mackay has banned driving on the foreshore and seaside on council-controlled land from Harbour Seashore to East Level.
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