Melb cars use emergency lane every 70 secs

Nearly one car a minute was busted driving in the emergency stopping lane of a major Melbourne freeway during a three-hour police crackdown.

Some 154 selfish drivers were caught driving in the emergency lane of the Western Ring Road during the afternoon peak blitz at St Albans on Wednesday.

That's one car every 70 seconds. All of the drivers were fined $311 each.

Senior Constable Jayden Gebbie says responsible motorists doing the right thing supported the operation by giving officers the thumbs up and tooting their car horns.

"This operation was about road safety but seems to have resonated well with those road users who obey the road rules," Snr Const Gebbie said in a statement on Thursday.

Wednesday's crackdown followed a spate of fatalities and collisions caused by drivers illegally using the emergency lane.