Earlier this year, police members working in the small communities of Skipton, Lake Bolac, Harrow, Wycheproof, Manangatang, Stanhope and Edenhope took part in a drug driving enforcement trial.

This trial has been deemed a success, with all of the police members now able to pull over drivers for a roadside drug test at any time.

Prior to the trial, drug testing in the areas had predominantly been conducted by specialist units including the state and local highway patrol units, the Heavy Vehicle Unit and the Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section (RPDAS).

While regional Victoria is more sparsely populated than Melbourne, more than half of the lives lost to road trauma occur on regional roads.

There are many contributing factors to serious injury and fatal collisions in Victoria, though drug driving is an increasing trend that is beginning to exceed drink driving as one of the leading causes of road trauma on the state's roads.

Of the almost 160 lives lost this year, police suspect drugs to be a factor in more than 30 per cent.

The trial was an attempt to mitigate the high rates of road trauma in regional areas, with Victoria Police currently investigating the potential for other one-person stations across the state to participate in the trial too, after the success at the other seven locations this year.

Western Region Superintendent Peter Greaney said police in regional areas were part of the fabric of their communities, so attending collisions could be devastating.

"The ripple effect in small communities can be huge - everyone tends to have some link."

Leading Senior Constable Craig Walker lives and works in the small town of Skipton, west of Ballarat. A member of Ballarat Highway Patrol for six and a half years before he took on the position at Skipton, where he has worked for more than two years, he is well aware of dangerous driving trends, such drug driving.

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"As the officer in charge of Skipton Police Station, my main concern is the safety of the community," he said.

Through enforcement of the law, such as through drug and alcohol testing, he tries to make it a safer place for everyone.

"With a major highway running through my town, road policing is part of day to day operations for me - so reducing speeding and drug and alcohol affected drivers to reduce road trauma," he said.

"I want to make sure our town is safe for people to move around - motorists and pedestrians alike."

The testing equipment goes on the road with him every shift. Through his role, Leading Senior Constable Walker covers not only Skipton but also surrounding areas.

He said many of the drivers he tested early this year, both locals and people travelling through the area, expressed their surprise - believing only the highway patrol conducted roadside drug tests.

But he said the town had been very supportive.

With a study conducted by the Victoria Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) finding that one in four Victorian drug users admitted to driving under the influence of illicit drugs, it is hoped the knowledge that there are more officers undertaking drug testing across the western region will deter people from making decisions that put themselves and other road users at risk.

"Word got around the town pretty quickly, and if that means the fear of getting caught stops those who use drugs from getting behind the wheel, then that's a good result," Leading Senior Constable Walker said.

Police conducted 40,000 drug tests in 2014. Last year, however, they conducted 150,000.

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