BACKGROUND

Drug-impaired driving is a significant and growing traffic safety concern. Policies to deter driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) require sound scientific evidence. Deterring DUID requires accurate roadside screening and detection for drugs.

• Drug screening and detection methods based on oral fluid samples are increasing. However, this approach is limited by the accuracy of screening technologies to identify the recency of drug use and to assess whether the amount of drug detected may be impairing.
• The Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) program trains officers to serve as Drug Recognition Experts (DREs), who assist patrol officers in determining drug impairment. The use of DREs is limited by substantial training time and costs, as well as a progressive reduction in the DRE force in recent years. A shortage of DREs has been identified in several states as the main limitation of the program.
• Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) training provides officers with skills to identify and detect drug-impaired drivers and has the potential to bridge the gap between Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and DRE training. Providing ARIDE training to as many patrol officers as possible is a way to address the DRE shortage.

Because every resource has a cost, the optimal design, implementation, and use of policies should be guided by what is scientifically and economically sound. Economic evaluations of policy alternatives should help decide which strategies can reasonably be implemented.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this project was to perform a comparative cost-benefit analysis of three DUID detection methods: oral fluids, DRE, and ARIDE. 

STATUS: The project was terminated at the conclusion of Phase I.