NCJ Number
239459
Date Published
January 2007
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration presents priorities and strategies for improving the investigation, use of toxicology results, and prosecution of drug-impaired driving cases.
Abstract
This report presents the findings and recommendations from the National Safety Council's Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs to identify problems with the current system of prosecuting drug-impaired driving cases. The panel was charged with examining four issues: 1) what are the major problems encountered in processing a drug-impaired driving case through the criminal justice system; 2) are current laws optimally structured to deter DUID (driving under the influence of drugs); 3) what resources currently exist to promote informed and effective DUID prosecution, and how can they be used more effectively; and 4) what should be the priority activities of stakeholders in advancing the enforcement and prosecution of drug-impaired driving? Major findings for each issue investigated by the panel are discussed along with a set of recommendations for addressing the problem. Some of the problems identified by the panel include the need for the use of dedicated law enforcement resources to stop impaired drivers, the need to improve training for police officers, the need to improve documentation of the signs and symptoms of drug intoxication for use in court, the need to standardize practices in toxicology laboratories supporting DUID programs, and the need to train forensic toxicologists to testify as experts in DUID trials.