A driver with two children riding in the back of a minivan without seatbelts on a return trip from the NSW snowfields were among the dozens of motorists caught and fined by police during a major operation on the Monaro Highway on Monday.
ACT Traffic Sergeant Travis Mills said among the many transgressions that he observed over the four hours of the operation the two unrestrained boys was one of the worst, given the potential for serious injury.
"That driver displayed very poor judgement," he said.
The intense, police-led operation affecting both north and southbound lanes of the busy dual carriageway ran for two hours in the morning and another two in the afternoon where thousands of trades-related vehicles drive every day, given the close proximity of Hume and the enormous amount of building occurring at nearby South Jerrabomberra and Tralee.
Canberra motorists appeared baffled at seeing so many blue uniforms out on ACT roads at once but the simple explanation was that the usual traffic cohort had its numbers swollen dramatically by the temporary presence of newly graduated probationary constables, joining the Road Policing team as part of their "local procedures" familiarisation.
Police vehicles with Automated Number Plate Recognition were positioned at the extremities of the operation.
Six vehicle inspectors from Access Canberra and four inspectors from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator were also part of the operation.
"Our partner agencies have issued a number of defect for heavy vehicles and also a number of defects for private vehicles," he said.
In just 10 minutes, the driver of a medium rigid truck belonging to a local building company faced a $700-plus fine for an unsecured load. He had a number of ladders and a heavy dropsaw sitting in the vehicle's aluminium tray.
"An unsecured load can be work tools or equipment or even a load of the gravel you've just picked up locally," Sgt MIlls said.
"The concern for road safety is that while people say these heavy items can't bounce or jar out of the tray, what happens if you have to brake hard? Those unsecured items become projectiles."
The NHVR set up its mobile inspection rig on the roadway, checking heavy vehicle driver log books and assessing roadworthiness.
Ironically, the site of the enforcement operation was just a few hundred metres down the road from one of the most horrific road crashes involving a heavy vehicle in the ACT recently.
Blake Corney was just four years old when he died of catastrophic head injuries after a truck ploughed into the back of his family's car as they waited at the lights on the Monaro Highway in July 2018.
Doctors told the driver of that 16-tonne landscaping truck, Akis Livas, he should not be operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery. He was charged with culpable driving causing death.
"I'm disappointed, to be honest, with the number of traffic infringements, unlicensed drivers and unregistered vehicles cars we've detected," Sgt Mills said.
Numerous vehicles were found unregistered, which incurs a $700 fine, and without third party insurance, which results in a $973 fine.
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