Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement

Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) is intended to bridge the gap between the SFST and DEC/DRE programs by providing officers with general knowledge related to drug impairment and by promoting the use of DREs in states that have the DEC Program. One of the more significant aspects of ARIDE is the required student demonstration of the SFST proficiency requirement. The ARIDE program stresses the importance of the signs and symptoms of the seven drug categories. This course will train law enforcement officers to observe, identify and articulate the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both, in order to reduce the number of impaired driving incidents as well as crashes which result in serious injuries and fatalities. This course will educate other criminal justice professionals (prosecutors, toxicologists, judges, etc.) to understand the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both, to enable them to effectively work with law enforcement in order to reduce the number of impaired driving incidents as well as crashes which result in serious injuries and fatalities.

The Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program was developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with input from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. ARIDE was created to address the gap in training between the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC/DRE) Program.

The SFST program trains officers to identify and assess drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, while the DEC/DRE program provides more advanced training to evaluate suspected drug impairment. The SFST assessment is typically employed at roadside, while an officer trained as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) through the DEC program conducts a 12-step evaluation in a more controlled environment such as a jail or a detention facility.

ARIDE is a 16-hour training course and is taught by DRE instructors. The following summarizes the sessions contained in the ARIDE course:

• Introduction and Overview of Drugs and Highway Safety
• SFST Update, Review and Proficiency Examination
• Observations of Eyes and other Sobriety Tests to Detect Alcohol and Drug Impairment
• Seven Drug Categories
• Effects of Drug Combinations
• Pre- and Post-Arrest Procedures

The training will be conducted under the administration and approval of the DEC/DRE program state coordinator.

The ARIDE-course can be used as an SFST update. This course is designed to build on the Standardized Field Sobriety Test practitioner course. In order for the participant to effectively utilize the information presented in this course, NHTSA has set a prerequisite of SFST proficiency. The participant will receive a short review and update. All participants are required to pass an SFST proficiency evaluation. Failure to successfully complete the SFST proficiency evaluation will result in dismissal from class.

The ARIDE Course includes training on the Indiana Roadside Oral Fluid Program. The program was created by ICJI's Traffic Safety Division to prevent crashes and save lives. Since the program's launch in December of 2020, the division has provided more than 50 Indiana law enforcement agencies with a new roadside tool to identify and keep drug-impaired drivers off the road. The device, the SoToxa Mobile Test System, is a handheld analyzer that uses an oral fluid swab to detect the presence of six kinds of drugs: cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, cannabis (THC), amphetamine and benzodiazepines. Currently, there are just under 200 devices in use in Indiana. The course will train the use of the SoToxa unit. All participants will complete the SoToxa quiz.