Citation

Voas RB. Transp. Res. Circular 2006; (E-C096): 107-116.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, U.S. National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In 1952, Borkenstein announced the invention of the breathalyzer, the first practical device for police to use to collect evidential quality blood alcohol information on drivers arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI). Recent technological developments for collecting and analyzing drugs in saliva and urine are providing officers in the field and at the police station with the tools to detect substance abuse in individuals arrested for impaired driving. This is ushering in an age in enforcement of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) laws similar to that produced half a century ago by the breathalyzer. Although the current DUID measurement methods are not yet accepted for evidential purposes by the courts, they give promise of doing so in the near future. Therefore, it is useful to consider, as this paper does, the lessons learned over the last half century in enforcing DWI laws with chemical test data.