Senior police hit street in Vic road blitz

Christmas is a time for giving, and Victoria Police is extending that to penalties for bad driving.

They are warning of zero tolerance for drivers who flout the road rules this festive season.

Last December 30 people died on Victorian roads and 17 a day were seriously injured.

Victoria Police hope Operation Break Up, launched on Monday, will help reduce these statistics by targeting distracted drivers this Christmas.

Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill says keeping down the road toll is everybody's responsibility.

"Road safety is a whole organisation responsibility but more broadly it's a whole of community responsibility," he said.

Deputy Commissioner Lucinda Nolan and acting Deputy Commissioner Jack Blayney joined Mr Hill to breath-test drivers at Southbank on Monday as part of the operation.

"Unfortunately to date in December we've had four people killed - four too many," Asst Comr Hill said.

"This is a time for celebration not preparing a funeral, not attending a hospital to visit an injured party of your family who has been involved in road trauma."

Operation Break Up follows on from Operation RAID, a general road rules crackdown, which ended on Sunday after detecting 36,000 traffic offences in 24 days.

Asst Comr Hill said the figures were not good enough, particularly in light of the 240 deaths on the state's roads this year.

Key Operation RAID results

* 12,305 speeding offences

* 3892 unregistered vehicles

* 2782 mobile phone offences

* 2076 disobey signs/signals

* 1638 unlicensed drivers

* 1293 seat belt offences

* 1247 drink drivers

* 1120 disqualified/suspended drivers

* 338 drug drivers

* 226 impoundments

(Source: Victoria Police)