THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT DRUGGED DRIVING IS TO DOMORE DRUNK DRIVING ENFORCEMENT
L aw enforcement officers are our best allies in the effort to reduce drugged driving and are the heroes who make our roads safe. Much like with drunk driving, the best way to deter and detect would-be drugged drivers is through the use of high-visibility enforcement tactics. These include sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. Because of the wide array of drugs and their varying levels of impairment, training is key to ridding our roadways of drugged drivers. That’s why MADD supports the full implementation of specialized training programs to assist law enforcement officers in detecting drugged drivers.
DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERTS (DRE)
The Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) program was created through a collaboration between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The DEC program, also referred to as the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program, was developed to help officers identify drug-impaired drivers. To become a DRE, officers must follow a rigorous three-phase training curriculum and learn to conduct a standardized and systematic 12-step evaluation consisting of physical, mental, and medical components.
ADVANCED ROADSIDE IMPAIRED DRIVING ENFORCEMENT (ARIDE)
For those agencies that lack the funding to employ a full time DRE, an alternative training has been established – the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program. ARIDE was created by NHTSA to address the gap between the traditional Standard Field Sobriety Test training given to officers to assist in detecting impaired drivers and the DEC/DRE program. The course requires 16 hours of classroom training versus the three-phase curriculum required to become a certified DRE.
STANDARDIZED FIELD SOBRIETY TESTING (SFST)
Standardized FieldSobriety Testing (SFST) remains the foundation of impaired driving detection and enforcement for some 800,000 officers across the country. Some states, however, do not require SFST training for officers assigned to patrol functions. MADD expects all officers to have the basic SFST skills to detect an impaired driver on the road. In addition, MADD strongly encourages law enforcement agencies to conduct periodic refresher courses in the basic use of SFST skills.
Drugged Driving // 5
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