In 2008, 11,773 people died in alcohol-impaired-driving vehicle crashes, accounting for nearly 32% of the total traffic fatalities (NHTSA, 2008). Fatalities resulting due to a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher are considered alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities. To decrease the number of alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities and injuries, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has contributed to the improvement of highway safety by giving law enforcement officers tools to assist in the identification of impaired drivers for the purpose of more effectively and consistently enforcing impaired driving laws. Beginning in 1975, NHTSA sponsored research that led to the development of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) for law enforcement officers to use to evaluate motorists who are suspected of driving while impaired (DWI). SFST is a battery comprised of three different tests: the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test, the walk-and-turn test, and the one-leg-stand test (see Stuster, 2001). The purpose of SFST training is to give a law enforcement officer the knowledge and tools to identify an impaired driver, make effective roadside evaluation of the driver on initial contact, and evaluate a suspected impaired driver using scientifically validated tests. Additionally, the training shows law enforcement officers how to effectively record and describe observed behaviors of impaired driving suspects and present effective testimony in court.
Evaluation of the Effects of SFST Training on Impaired Driving Enforcement. Traffic Safety Facts, Research Note, May 2011
2011
3 pages
Report
No indication
English
Transportation Safety , Road Transportation , Education, Law, & Humanities , Drinking drivers , Training programs , Tests , Program evaluation , Law enforcement , Traffic safety , Motor vehicle accidents , Fatalities , Blood alcohol concentration , Driver behavior , Standardized Field Sobriety Tests(SFST) , Driving While Impaired(DWI)