U.S. Department of Transportation printed on recycled paper

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Guide Topics

Assessing the Impaired Driving Problem in

Your Jurisdiction

Overcoming Obstacles to an Effective

Impaired driving Enforcement Program

Impaired Driving Detection and Standardized

Field Sobriety Testing

Drug Evaluation and Classification Program

Breath Testing Instruments

Effective Enforcement Strategies

Program Effectiveness

Resources to Assist and Support Impaired

Driving Enforcement Programs

Published Materials

TRAFFIC TECH

Technology Transfer Series

Number 126 June 1996

IMPAIRED DRIVING ENFORCEMENT

A PROGRAM GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND 

HIGHWAY SAFETY ADMINISTRATORS PUBLISHED

Law enforcement and highway safety administrators are who died in vehicle crashes in 1994.

an integral part of the solution to reduce injury and

death on our roadways caused by impaired drivers. The Effective enforcement methods and strategies to

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) combat the problem of impaired driving vary from

and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jurisdiction to jurisdiction. With increased emphasis on

(NHTSA) have teamed together to develop Impaired

Driving Enforcement: A Program Guide for Law

Enforcement and Highway Safety Administrators. 

This 27 page guide outlines various components of an

impaired driving program, lists sources of publications

for specific enforcement topics, provides resources for

more information or technical assistance, and has other

practical information to review and assess an existing

impaired driving enforcement program.

Though the problem of alcohol-related fatalities has

declined about 30 percent since 1984, NHTSA

estimates that alcohol is still

involved in 40 percent of fatal

crashes and six percent of all Driving Enforcement: A

crashes. About two in every Program Guide for Law

five Americans will be Enforcement and Highway

involved in an alcohol-related Safety Administrators are

crash at some time in their available. Write to the Office

lives. Other individuals of Enforcement and Emerinvolved in motor vehicle gency Services, NHTSA, NTScrashes are suspected of being 41, 400 Seventh Street, S.W.,

under the influence of Washington, DC 20590, or

prescription or illicit drugs. send a fax to 

NHTSA and its traffic safety

partners have set an ambitious

goal to reduce alcohol-related

traffic fatalities to 11,000 by

the year 2005. This would

mean saving about 6,000 lives

each year or 16 lives each and

every day from the number

targeting impaired driving, this may be a good time for

law enforcement and highway safety administrators to

review their current programs, emphasizing proven

techniques to deter, detect, and sanction impaired

drivers. Since most law enforcement agencies in this

country are small, administrators in these agencies may

not have the opportunities or resources for the latest

impaired driving information and technology on their

own. The Program Guide lists sources of information

in one publication that can help administrators review

their own programs.

HOW TO ORDER

Limited copies of Impaired

(202) 366-7721.

U.S. Department 

of Transportation

National Highway 

Traffic Safety 

Administration

400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-33

Washington, DC 20590

TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to

disseminate 
information about traffic safety programs, 

including evaluations, innovative programs, 

and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish. 

If you would like to receive a copy contact:

Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor, Evaluation Staff

Traffic Safety Programs

(202) 366-2759, fax (202) 366-7096

E-MAIL: lcosgrove@nhtsa.dot.gov