A recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that backs the ability of police officers to assess driver impairment from substances other than alcohol comes as more officers are being specially trained to do just that.
About 90 police officers throughout the state, mostly state troopers, are certified as drug-recognition experts, said Trooper Scott Davis, an instructor in the advanced skills unit at the State Police Academy in Hershey.
Drug-recognition experts, or DREs, are trained to identify specific signs and symptoms associated with drugs -- both illegal substances and prescription medications, Davis said.
DREs use a variety of techniques above and beyond the standard one-leg stand and walk-and-turn to determine the category of drug that impaired a driver.
Someone who is on a central nervous system depressant such as Xanax or Valium will exhibit completely different signs and symptoms from someone who is on a stimulant such as cocaine, Davis said.
For depressants, a good screening tool is the horizontal gaze test, in which an officer closely observes the eyes of the person. Under direct light, involuntary jerking of the eyes is a telltale sign of a depressant.
Another method is to have the person tilt his or her head back for 30 seconds, which the person estimates on his or her own. People who are heavily sedated may keep their head tilted back three times longer because their time perception is distorted by the drug.
To detect stimulant use, officers examine the pupils and take the person's blood pressure.
Many of the drug-recognition experts are on-the-road troopers, but some work in other capacities, said Davis, who also is a trained DRE.
They are available to assist officers who are not trained as drug-recognition experts.
Davis said prescription drug abuse is a growing problem, so it's not surprising that a growing number of impaired driving arrests involve prescription medications.
"We live in a society where if it's broke, you throw a pill at it," he said. "That creates a lot of problems. It's real common to see a person who has a prescription for Vicodin, Percocet and Darvocet."
Those pain medications are highly addictive and if not closely monitored can turn soccer moms and professionals who have never used illegal drugs or driven while drunk into law breakers, Davis said.
Copyright 2011 - Reading Eagle, Pa.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
