Examine the Feasibility of a Standardize Field Test for Marijuana Impairment

The purpose of this amendment is to provide the Request for Proposal entitled "Examine the Feasibility of a Standardized Field Test for Marijuana Impairment: Laboratory Evaluations"

The pre-soliciation was posted on April 13, 2016. 

Questions are due Friday, July 22, 2016 no later than 12:00PM EST. Questions and Answers will be available on FBO no later than Friday, July 29, 2016.

All proposal are due Monday, August 15, 2015 no later than 12:30PM EST.

Description:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). NHTSA's mission is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce traffic-related health care and other economic costs. Pursuant to its authority under 23 U.S.C.401, et seq. the agency develops, promotes, implements, and supports effective educational, engineering and enforcement programs with the goal of ending preventable tragedies and reducing economic costs associated with vehicle use and highway travel.

Roadside tests of alcohol impairment are often used by police officers as part of Driving While Intoxicated/Impaired (DWI) arrests. During a typical investigation, a police officer, who has reason to believe that a driver is impaired by alcohol, will administer a series of tests to the driver. These tests serve to confirm the initial suspicion and may provide probable cause to arrest the driver for DWI. The driver's performance on these tests is also a critical part of the evidence presented in court to support the DWI charge. The Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST ), which is widely used today, was calibrated to assist officers in determining whether the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC ) of a person stopped for suspicion of DWI is above or below .10 grams per deciliter (g/dL). The test battery was later validated at .08 g/dl BAC .

There is not currently a similar test for roadside to determine whether a driver is impaired by a drug, other than alcohol. NHTSA's 2007 National Roadside Survey found that 20.0 % of weekend nighttime drivers were positive for a drug . The most prevalent drug was marijuana, at 12.6% . Given the incidence of marijuana-positive drivers, and current interest in marijuana used (e.g., in Colorado and Washington, which have legalized recreational use), NHTSA is interested in exploring the feasibility of a standardized test battery for roadside use for detecting marijuana impairment in drivers. The battery could include cognitive, behavioral physical capability, physiological tests, or driving skills tests.

In Phase I of this project, NHTSA collaborated with a Contractor to gather, evaluate, and interpret recent literature on tests of impairment from marijuana or other drug use (e.g., test of cognitive ability, behavioral tests, tests of physical capability, physiological tests, driving skills tests). Based on the results of the review, NHTSA selected a list of promising tests to be validated in a laboratory study and (possibly later) in field studies (that can be demonstrated to be useful in diverse settings and by diverse users, and with inexpensive or low-tech equipment/means). This project, Phase II, covers the only laboratory evaluation of the tests that NHTSA selected.

The objectives of this contract are to:

1. Operationally define the constructs, impairment and performance, so that variations in performance based on dosing can be identified;
2. Establish procedures for evaluating the tests (e.g., validity and reliability);
3. Provide an analysis of the test results;
4. Based on the results of the evaluations, make recommendations for
a. Promising test and/or combinations of tests that could be further validated in field studies (that can be demonstrated to be useful in diverse settings and by diverse users, and with inexpensive or low-tech equipment/means);
b. Determine testing procedures (e.g., number of trials for criterion score, test item order);
c. Estimate the time and cost of developing the test or test battery.

NHTSA seeks a Contractor to assist in accomplishing the research study surrounding interactions and conflicts between bicycles and motor vehicles and law enforcement effort.

This acquisition is being offered as full and open. The NAICS Code for the anticipated contract is 541720. Contractors must be registered in the Systems for Award Management Database located at http://www.sams.gov, and must complete electronic representations and certification on the ORCA database located at http://orca.bpn.gov to be considered for contract award. It is the Government's intent to award a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) type contract resulting from the solicitation, with or without discussions, to the responsible offeror whose proposal, conforming to the solicitation, is most advantageous to the Government based on the evaluation factors contained in the solicitation. It is the Offeror's responsibility to monitor the FedBizOpps Internet site for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential Offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Requests for paper copies of the RFP will not be accepted. The estimated date for release of the solicitation is on or about June 01, 2016.

Period of Performance: Forty(40) months from the date of award.

Contract Award: The anticipated award date for the resultant contract is expected to be on or about September 2016.