MORE drivers are ignoring the law, a fact evident in the 2201 traffic offences committed in the Western Division over a period of 13 days.
Land Transport Authority chief executive officer Naisa Tuinaceva said since the commencement of the third phase of the Red Zone Operation on September 19, the authority had issued 944 traffic infringement notices (TIN), 1194 defect orders and impounded 63 vehicles.
Mr Tuinaceva said the number of infringements fluctuates daily but he was more concerned with the attitude of drivers and motor vehicle owners, particularly when they were aware of the presence of traffic enforcement officers on the roads.
"Speeding recorded the highest number of infringements and the LTA has reiterated that the enforcement team will continue to work closely with the police to punish those that continue to break the law," he said.
"Offences noted were speeding, careless driving, expired driving licence and failure to abide by traffic laws. We do know that the problem that's faced out there on our roads is all based on drivers attitude.
"These are bad driver behaviour, traffic law breakers and high disrespect of the law. This must be stopped and the only way for the authority to deal with this is to exercise the suspension of driving licence," he said.
Mr Tuinaceva said drivers had been urged to be more careful and vigilant while driving because of adverse weather conditions.
He advised pedestrians to wear white reflective colours while walking on the side of the road.
"Our presence on the road is an indication that we do care and continue to advocate on road safety to all members of the public. Vehicle conditions and driver bad behaviour are the two areas that we try to improve on."
He said the operation had gone into its third phase.
"Increasing our presence on the road strengthens our ability to address the concern on the increasing number of fatalities on the roads," Mr Tuinaceva said.
"Our operations are analysed daily on strategies to see how effective we are at our service.
"As a regulatory organisation we are challenged in many ways to see that what we produced addresses our strategies effectively because this is to ensure that our roads are safe and free from accidents."
Police are part of LTA's Red Zone Operation between Sigatoka and Ba.