Operation Tortoise, the annual Easter long-weekend police blitz on driving offences, finishes at 11.59pm today.

The long-weekend was the first test for the Hunter Expressway under holiday traffic conditions.

Central Hunter highway patrol Sergeant Damon Bugden said, aside from some minor speeding offences on the expressway’s feeder roads, it did not pose a problem to police.

“I’ve been involved in the opening periods of other major roads like the M2 and M7 [in Sydney] and there are often problems with speed in the initial stages,” he said.

“It has been a lot quieter than I expected.”

Sergeant Bugden told The Mercury yesterday afternoon that the region’s only incident of note so far occurred on Friday night, when an unaccompanied learner driver was caught drink-driving.

He said the 19-year-old recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.045 after she was stopped on Boundary Street about 9.10pm.

The legal blood-alcohol limit for learner drivers is zero.

“People have been pretty well behaved,” Sergeant Bugden said.

“Monday afternoon will be the test when we have everyone trying to get home from their holidays.”

Double demerit penalties for speeding, seatbelt offences and drink-driving will again be in force between 12.01am on Thursday and 11.59pm on Sunday, when Operation Go Slow begins for the Anzac Day long-weekend.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said there were fewer road fatalities state-wide so far this year, but the community needed to remain vigilant about safe driving practices.

“We have seen fatalities fall in NSW over the last five years, and 2013 was a record low of 339,” Mr Scipione said.

“This is an encouraging sign.”