Determine Feasibility of Alternative Tests for the Standardized Field Sobriety Test

Roadside tests of alcohol impairment are often used by police officers as part of Driving While Intoxicated/Impaired (DWI) arrests. During a typical investigation, an officer, who has reason to believe a driver is impaired, will administer a series of tests to the driver. These tests serve to confirm the initial suspicion and may provide probable cause to arrest the driver for DWI. Also, the driver's performance on these tests is sometimes a critical part of the evidence presented in court to support the DWI charge. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST), which is widely used today. It was initially calibrated to assist officers in determining whether the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of a person stopped for suspicion of DWI was at or above .10g/dL. As states began lowering illegal BAC limits to .08, NHTSA conducted further investigation into the SFST to examine the validity at .08. The SFST program is now managed by the NHTSA Office Safety Programs and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, who provide impaired driving training courses for officers. The three (3) tests which comprise the SFST, when conducted together, provide a proven method to determine whether a person is likely above .08. Tests may be omitted, with reduced accuracy. NHTSA is now interested in exploring whether other individual tests may be beneficial for use in atypical situations, or with certain populations, when an officer cannot administer the SFST. For example, it may be difficult in some situations (such as the marine environment), and for some people (with weight or mobility issues) to perform the walk and turn and the one-leg-stand. For individuals with medical conditions that affect eye movement, another test may provide more meaningful results than horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN). The objectives of this task order are to examine the feasibility of additional tests for determining whether a person is at or above the illegal BAC limit. Specifically, these tests shall avoid the need for the suspect to stand, or do not involve tracking a suspect’s eye movement. Law enforcement agencies and others in the criminal justice system look to NHTSA for information to improve the DWI arrest process, including determining whether a suspect is likely to be at or above the illegal limit. This study will provide information about a broader range of alcohol impairment measures that could be used when an officer is conducting an investigation of a potentially alcohol-impaired suspect.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $944083
• Contract Numbers:

  693JJ921D000032/693JJ924F00133N

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, D.C.  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, D.C.  United States  20590
• Performing Organizations:

  Dunlap and Associates

  ,    
• Principal Investigators:

  Jeleniewski, Stacy

• Start Date: 20240918
• Expected Completion Date: 20261231
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: Behavioral Safety Research
• Subprogram: Alcohol Impaired Driving

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol tests; Alternatives analysis; Blood alcohol levels; Feasibility analysis; Impaired drivers; Law enforcement; Sobriety checkpoints
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01935843
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Contract Numbers: 693JJ921D000032/693JJ924F00133N
• Files: RIP, USDOT
• Created Date: Nov 1 2024 12:46PM