Taking on the drugged and drunk drivers

The UK Government's Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) is developing the technology for a new campaign against drugged and drunk drivers. Data on drug-related accidents are lacking due to a lack of on-scene drug detection technology. HOSDB is developing intoxication testing devices. Based on a miniature Sony Vaio tablet PC, the Roadside Impairment Test Device (RITD) will present a suspect driver with objective tests designed to assess manual dexterity and state of alertness. The currently used field impairment tests are highly subjective. One RITD test will measure a suspect's ability to sustain attention to a task and respond to a stimulus, such as pressing a button according to what type of road sign appears. A tracking test will be used to check a driver's ability to follow a moving object on the screen. There are problems with developing tests that are useful across the whole population, as the ability to use fine motor control on a computer varies between different people. When the RITD goes into service, drivers it shows to be impaired would undergo a roadside swab test that will give an instant read-out on the drugs they have taken, based on surface enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/02624079
• Authors:
  • MARKS, P
• Publication Date: 2005-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 28-9
• Serial:
  • NEW SCIENTIST
  • Volume: 188
  • Issue Number: 2528
  • Publisher: REED BUSINESS INFORMATION LTD
  • ISSN: 0262-4079

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Detection and identification; Drivers; Drugs; Equipment; Federal government; Organizations; Research projects
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 9115: Detection; 1772: Driver; 2242: Drugs; 3674: Equipment; 183: Government (national); 9057: Organization (association); 8557: Research project; 8119: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Research; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01027075
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jul 5 2006 12:20PM