General News
12 August, 2025
Unpaid fines, defective vehicles caught in two-day Operation Winter Watch
Almost $100,000 in unpaid fines and a quarter of all stopped vehicles were defective after a two-day joint operation between local police and the Sheriff’s Office Victoria.
Operation Winter Watch aimed to improve road safety through vehicle checks and education while holding people to account for their unpaid fines.
The joint operation, on July 15 and July 30, stopped vehicles along Park Road in a successful collaboration for both organisations.
Maryborough Police Constable Stewart Forbes explained 27 defects were issued, totalling around 25 percent of all vehicles stopped, with one vehicle too dangerous to drive away.
The grounded car was towing another vehicle beyond its capacity and had bald tyres, among other major issues.
“It’s very satisfying that we can put a stop to something like that because the potential dangers for other road users obviously increases with something like that on the road,” he said.
Over the two day operation, Sheriff officers actioned 216 warrants against 40 debtors totalling more than $94,000, recovering $35,000 of outstanding debt immediately.
Four vehicles had wheel clamps applied for 50 outstanding warrants totalling more than $23,000.
A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson explained similar operations have helped improve community safety while recovering outstanding debt.
“Operations like this help create a safe environment for the community and ensure all drivers take to the road in vehicles that are safe to use,” they said.
“We encourage drivers to deal with their fines as soon as they receive them.”
However, Con Forbes emphasised the educational aspect for local drivers.
“The idea of the operation wasn’t all about punishment it was about trying to educate road users,” he said.
“Creating a safe road environ-ment and supporting road users to make safe choices is what we were trying to establish.”
From advice around uneven tyre wear, to warning drivers if they’re nearing the tread wear indicator, and general advice for inexperienced drivers — it was another opportunity for local community engagement.
“Everyone’s got different know-ledge of vehicles and that was our role to try and educate them,” he said.
“For people who are open and willing to take that onboard that’s where the education is really good.”
Con Forbes said similar joint operations used to be more common and the community could potentially see their return.
