Cup revellers urged to plan ahead

ACT Policing is reminding Canberrans celebrating Today’s Melbourne Cup to plan ahead and drink responsibly.

ACT Policing will have a high-visibility presence at Thoroughbred Park and a strong presence in and around Civic and other licensed venues as patrons continue their celebrations.

Targeted and random breath testing will be conducted across Canberra.

Operational Commander Adrian Craft is encouraging people to have a good time but not at the expense of others.

“We want people to go out and enjoy themselves on Melbourne Cup day but we won’t tolerate any anti-social behaviour or those that decide to act irresponsibly by drinking and driving,” Operational Commander Craft said.

“Plan your day, arrange to be picked up, catch a taxi or take an ACTION bus when you’re heading home – please keep our roads safe.”

“Police will be actively targeting motorists today with breath and drug testing stations, but more importantly we want to ensure we do not have to manage a collision scene arising from someone drinking and driving.”

Last year Traffic Operations maintained a high profile presence on ACT roads conducting around 900 roadside screening tests for alcohol on Melbourne Cup day, of which three resulted in positive results.

There will be free ACTION buses running from Thoroughbred Park to the Civic bus station between 4pm and 7.30pm.