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Citation |
Jernigan JD. Transp. Res. Rec. 1993; 1401: 100. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 1993, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Beginning on April 1, 1988, a revision to Virginia law gave police officers the authority to require an individual suspected of drug-related driving under the influence (DUI) to submit a blood sample to be tested for drugs. Concurrent with the implementation of the revised law, Virginia initiated a pilot Drug Recognition Technician (DRT) Program, which concentrates on training police officers to detect the signs of impairment consistent with seven broad categories of drugs. The impact of the revised law and the DRT program on arrests and convictions for drug-impaired driving between 1988 and 1990 was evaluated. In addition, the question of whether there was a spillover effect on alcohol-related arrests and convictions and alcohol-related injury and fatality rates was investigated. Drug-related DUI arrests increased in 1988 but declined somewhat in 1989 and 1990; however, the DUI conviction rate for drug-related cases remained relatively stable. Generally, if a drug was detected, the DUI conviction rate was 40 to 70%, depending on the type of drugs detected. If no drug was detected, the DUI conviction rate was less than 25%. Although the revised law encouraged officers to make more arrests for drug-related DUI, there is no evidence that it reduced fatalities. Further, even though the DRT program helped increase arrests for drug-related DUI, DRT cases were no more likely than non-DRT cases to result in a conviction. However, there is some evidence that the DRT program had a positive influence on the arrest rate for alcohol-related DUI. Language: en |