Drugged Driving More Prevalent

This is a fact that has become more apparent over the years, but nothing new. The Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program is incredible, and we need to encourage more of it in each state. The reality is that becoming a DRE is no easy task for many law enforcement officers. It requires an officer that is more inclined to academia than many who signed up to protect the public.

That being said, finances enter into this issue. For many years I tried to get an entity to finance a study that would give a much more accurate picture of the impact licit and illicit drugs have in impaired drivers. In many areas, the person is tested for alcohol, and if that meets the limit of impairment, all other tests stop. Therefore, a violator could certainly have a plethora of opioids, benzos, or stimulants also in their body that are never detected. Money is the issue here, as expanded tests cost money and with governmental funds being squeezed, it isn't going to happen.

I think we would be surprised at the amount of licit and illicit drugs that are in these violators systems if we went further in our testing.