Police in the Wide Bay are tackling a drug driving epidemic and meth is the popular choice

Traffic cops tackling an ice epidemic in a regional Queensland community say the drug is by far the “most detected” in drivers and it knows no age barriers.

Traffic police tackling the drug epidemic in the Wide Bay region say the drug known as ‘ice’ is “basically taking over from speed” and there’s no longer target age bracket.

“Gone” are the days of speed-users, as Cannabis and Methamphetamine take place.

Speaking at a driver’s education session for teens, Wide Bay Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford told the Fraser Coast Chronicle methylamphetamine and marijuana were the two drugs most commonly detected in the area.

He said meth had taken over from the once popular speed as it was a cheaper alternative.

“The days of people actually making speed are just about gone, because they're just buying ice,” Detective Pettiford said.

“This has probably resulted in greater drug distribution everywhere across Australia, and when you've got that happening, it means more people have the opportunity to take it.”

Goomeri Police Station Senior Constable Sgt Jake Colvin and Maryborough Road Policing Unit Officer in Charge Sgt Josh Churchward.

Maryborough Road Policing Unit Officer in Charge Seargent Josh Churchward said police were also catching users of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, increasingly across Wide Bay.

“It's particularly concerning to see people using methamphetamine right across the right across the age bracket from … 17 years of age right through to over 60 year olds,” Sgt Churchward said.

“To see people who would otherwise hold down a steady job and test positive for methamphetamine is very concerning.”

It comes after police revealed drug drivers were outnumbering drink drivers 5:1 across Wide Bay.

Sgt Churchward said to combat the regional challenge, officers were amping up roadside illicit drug saliva testing and targeting everyone.

“We‘re certainly doing more roadside drug testing now than we have ever done before,” Sgt Churchward said.

“We‘ve seen (Cannabis and Methamphetamine) present right across the board, so we’ll continue to randomly test everybody across the community as a deterrent to remove those impaired drivers from our roads … Users are not concerned with breaking the law.”