Pilot Test of Selected DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) Detection Procedures for Use at Sobriety Checkpoints

摘要

The report presents the results of a study designed to evaluate a variety of potential screening procedures police officers could use at the brief initial stop at a sobriety checkpoint to discriminate between impaired and sober drivers. The potential checkpoint screening procedures examined in the study included the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, observations of driving and stopping behavior, the driver's personal appearance, a divided attention task and a passive alcohol sensor. In the study, dosed and sober drivers drove their own cars down a closed street and were stopped by police officers at a sobriety checkpoint. The setting of the experiment and the procedures used were designed to closely simulate the conditions found at real checkpoints. The results indicated that the officers using a test screening procedure were able to accurately discriminate between impaired drivers (those with a breath alcohol level of 0.10% or higher) and sober drivers.