Citation

Burns M, Moskowitz H. Transp. Res. Rec. 1979; 739: 1-4.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1979, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A study undertaken to develop an improved battery of field tests of driver sobriety is discussed. In most states, 0.10 percent is the blood alcohol concentration at which a driver is presumed to be driving while intoxicated, but the mean blood alcohol concentration of arrested drivers is closer to 0.17 percent. This reflects the difficulty of the police officer's task. Tests for determining whether a motorist is driving while intoxicated and whether an arrest should be made must be sensitive to alcohol impairment and meet the severe constraints imposed by limited time and the characteristics of the roadside environment. Six types of tests were selected for evaluation based on the literature, field observations, and pilot studies. In a laboratory study, 10 police officers administered the tests to 238 participants at 0-0.15 percent levels of blood alcohol concentration. Based on analysis of the data, a battery of three tests was selected: one-leg stand, walk and turn, and alcohol gaze nystagmus. By using the police officers' scores for these three tests, it was possible to correctly classify 83 percent of the participants as above or below 0.10 percent blood alcohol concentration.