A motorcyclist was charged for driving 180km/h through Adelaide River and an alleged uninsured drug-head was picked up on Easter Sunday, after swerving at cars in a Nightcliff roundabout while allegedly high and with “illicit substances” in his possession, police said, as part of the NT Police’s high-visibility long weekend traffic blitz from Darwin through Alice Springs.

The Territory Road Policing Division conducted 1,912 random breath tests over the weekend, with 34 people testing positive. Of the 121 drivers subjected to roadside drug tests, 24 drivers tested positive for drug use, NT Police said.

One Alice Springs driver was found to have been nearly five times the legal limit for alcohol, returning a reading of 0.234.

“While 80 per cent of drivers who were subjected to a random drug test were negative, there were still 20 per cent who tested positive. This is a major concern,” Superintendent Daniel Shean said in a statement.

“Across the weekend we saw a lot of complacency around road-worthy vehicles, the lack of seatbelts and speeding.

“All of these are factors into the fatal five: speed, alcohol and illicit drugs, failure to wear a seatbelt, fatigue and driver distraction.”

Police said one motorist was slugged with a $1500 fine for reportedly driving 132km/h in an 80km/h zone on Easter Sunday, although it was unclear where that occurred. Police also said a motorcyclist was charged on the same day driving through Adelaide River clocked at 178km/h in a 130km/h zone.

Also on Easter Sunday, police reportedly observed a vehicle fail to give way to other motorists on a roundabout in Nightcliff, “narrowly missing the other vehicles”.

The driver was subjected to a breath and drug test where he allegedly returned a positive drug reading.

“A search of his vehicle located a small quantity of illicit substances,” Supt Shean said. “The driver was arrested for drug driving, driving unlicensed, and driving an unregistered and uninsured motor vehicle and possession of drugs.”

Police did not say what drugs he was alleged to have consumed or was in possession of.

Meanwhile on Monday, police charged a female driver along the Stuart Highway, Hayes Creek, after she returned a positive result for drug driving.

“A search of her vehicle resulted in the seizure of a small quantity of illicit substances,” Supt Shean said, while also not saying what drugs police found.

Another motorcyclist was also arrested on the same day for boon-related offences, at an unidentified location. The rider was subjected to a random breath test and random drug test, where he returned a positive reading for drugs.

Around 7:30 pm on the same day, members of the Southern Traffic Operations unit observed a silver Holden Commodore doing burnouts on Todd Street in Alice Springs. The vehicle sped off before police could stop it. Police later arrested the unlicensed 16-year-old driver who was driving an unregistered vehicle. He is currently being dealt with under provisions of the Youth Justice Act, police said.

Investigations concerning the three fatalities that occurred during the weekend are still ongoing.

“Since Thursday last week, three Territorians were sadly lost on our roads. We are currently sitting at 18 lives lost, compared to three this time last year,” Supt Shean said. “The stark increase of fatalities this year already is a sobering reminder of the urgent need for the wider community to take road safety seriously.”