Visual Detection of Driving While Intoxicated. Project Interim Report: Identification of Visual Cues and Development of Detection Methods

摘要

The report describes the initial phase of a two-phase project on the visual, on-the-road detection of driving while intoxicated (DWI). The purpose of the overall project is to develop and test procedures for enhancing on-the-road detection of DWI. The emphasis of the first phase was on the identification of visual cues and the development of procedures that effectively discriminate between DWI and driving while sober (DWS). The literature was reviewed, expert opinion was surveyed, 1288 DWI arrest reports were analyzed, and an on-the-road detection study was conducted. In the detection study, trained observers accompanied police officers on patrol and recorded 643 instances of driving behavior and vehicle actions that deviated from normal. In each instance, the patrol officer stopped the vehicle and measured the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of the driver with a portable breath tester. A DWI detection guide was developed to facilitate the application of research findings to the on-the-road detection of DWI by police patrol officers. The guide consists of 23 visual cues, a value for each cue reflecting the ability of the cue to discriminate between DWI and DWS, and a set of three rules for estimating the probability of DWI for any set of observed cues. The 23 cues accounted for 92 percent of the cues observed during the detection study.