More Victorian drivers killed by ice than alcohol: police

More Victorian drivers are killed under the influence of the drug ice than alcohol, police say.

In September, Victoria Police received funding to ramp up roadside drug testing meaning they will be able to test 100,000 drivers each year, compared to the previous 42,000.

These drug tests can detect traces of ice, as well as cannabis, ecstasy, and speed.

By October 2015, police say all Victorian highway patrol will be conducting drug tests.

“What we’re now dealing with is a more significant risk around the drugged driver,” Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said.

For the first time in eight years, Victoria’s road toll has increased, with 248 lives lost in 2014, compared to 243 the year before.

A 28-year-old man from Middle Park was driving along South Road, Hampton when he lost control, slamming into a pole just before 7am this morning.

Police say excessive speed was to blame for the fatal crash.

“Yet again, a crash that could have been avoided,” Assist Comm Hill said.

Half an hour later crews worked to free a passenger trapped in a van after it rear-ended a car on Warragul Road in Chadstone.

Paramedics took him to hospital in a stable condition.

Police say multiple fatality accidents have caused the increase in the road toll, including a petrol tanker which speared through cars killing two women and a four-year-old in August.

The New Year’s Eve blitz caught 28 drink drivers from more than 9000 breath tests.