Drug drivers warned

Broome police have stepped up their roadside drug-testing campaign as more crystal methamphetamine hits the streets than ever before.

While senior officers say it is not yet an epidemic, demand for ice in the region has users paying up to $500 a gram higher than in Perth.

Sergeant Paul World said driver drug testing in Broome had been bolstered, with more police trained and available to carry out the tests.

"Our capability has now dramatically increased following a number of new police officers receiving the drug training," he said.

Sgt World said the community would notice an increase in the number of drivers tested over the coming months.

"Drug testing will now follow in line with our alcohol breath-testing ethos," he said.

"Every police vehicle is now a booze and drug bus that people could expect to see anywhere, any time."

The operation follows the revelation from Broome Detective Senior Sergeant Kevin Bradshaw that more than 2kg of the drug had been seized in the Kimberley over the past year.

Meanwhile, road safety researchers want WA Police to change policy on not drug-testing drivers who fail an alcohol breath test.

They are concerned the policy hides the extent of people driving after using illicit drugs.

The Curtin Monash Accident Research Centre also wants the WA Government to create a specific "combined impairment" charge, similar to one in Victoria for those who drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

A recent report found nearly a quarter of drivers and riders killed on WA roads between 2000 and 2012 had illicit drugs in their system and almost half had a blood alcohol reading over 0.05.

They said drug testing was not done because the penalty for drink-driving was usually more than for a drug offence.