Development of the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program

NOFO POSTED. Complete NOFO is attached. -

The Mission of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an operating mode of DOT, is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activity. To accomplish this, NHTSA awards grants and cooperative agreements to state and local governments, not-for-profit organizations, and other entities in support of motor vehicles and road traffic safety initiatives.

The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement (CA or Agreement) is to support the development and evaluation of the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program. The purposes and objectives of this project include:

Development: The Recipient will develop and enhance the DEC Program through curricula development, science, toxicology, prosecution, research, law enforcement policies and procedures, including officer safety measures and other appropriate means.

· Training and coordinating with law enforcement officers on drug impaired driving enforcement, which includes but is not limited to the Standardized Field Sobriety (SFST) Program, the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) Program and the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program, also known as the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program.

· Liaison with State Highway Safety Offices (SHSO's), DRE State Coordinators, Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors (TSRP's) and other prosecutors, Forensic Toxicologists, law enforcement executives and senior leaders, medical experts, researchers and others as appropriate to identify areas that for further development and/or improvement

Demonstration: The Recipient will test and evaluate specific program components with SHSOs, allied organizations, law enforcement, prosecutors, toxicologists and others as it relates to the DEC Program.

Support: The Recipient will develop the DEC Program by convening a panel of subject matter experts in the application of the SFST, ARIDE and DRE Programs.

BACKGROUND

In 2018, there were 10,511 fatalities involving motor vehicle drivers with a blood/breath alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher; this was 29 percent of the total traffic fatalities (36,560)[1] for the year. An average of one alcohol-impaired-driving fatality occurred in the U.S. every 50 minutes in 2018.

Nationwide in 2009, 63 percent of fatally injured drivers were tested for the presence of drugs. Overall, 3,952 fatally injured drivers tested positive for drug involvement in 2009. This number represents 18 percent of all fatally injured drivers.

A 2013-2014 National Roadside Survey conducted by NHTSA found that the percentage of weekend nighttime drivers with evidence of drugs in their system climbed to 20 percent from 16.3 percent in a similar 2007 NHTSA study. The number of drivers who tested positive for marijuana grew by nearly 50 percent.[2] NHTSA also determined that over 22% of nighttime weekend drivers tested positive for drugs.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) originated what later became the DEC Program in the early 1970s when LAPD officers noticed that many of the individuals arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) had very low or zero breath or blood alcohol concentrations. The officers reasonably suspected that the arrestees were under the influence of drugs but lacked the knowledge and skills to support their suspicions. In response, two (2) LAPD sergeants collaborated with various medical doctors, research psychologists and other medical professionals to develop a standardized procedure for recognizing drug influence and impairment. Their efforts culminated in the development of a multi-step protocol and the first Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program. The LAPD formally recognized the program in 1979. It was later renamed the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DECP).

As of January 1, 2022, all 50 States, the District of Columbia and Guam participate in the DECP. Currently approximately 7300 U.S. law enforcement officers are credentialed and certified as DRE's under the DEC Program.

Law enforcement officers receive rigorous and comprehensive training to meet minimum requirements to be certified as a law enforcement officer. Over 650 law enforcement training academies train approximately 45,000 recruits each year.[3] Graduating law enforcement officers are well-equipped and prepared to respond to a myriad of social and criminal situations and to take appropriate action, including the identification, investigation, arrest and prosecution of alcohol-impaired drivers. Unfortunately, they receive minimal training in the identification and processing of drug-impaired drivers.

Law enforcement agencies have developed efficiencies in maintaining an organizational structure that addresses many specific community issues. Response to homicide, narcotics, cyber-crime, traffic safety and other issues benefit from specialized units and specialized training within a law enforcement organization. The DECP is one such area where Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) bring great value in assisting fellow officers in detecting, investigating, apprehending and prosecuting individuals who engage in the dangerous behavior of driving while under the influence of drugs other than alcohol.

The DECP is a complex national program that brings training, expertise and technical support to Federal, State and local jurisdictions to combat drug-impaired driving. The program training includes certifying these specially trained officers as DREs and maintains records of all credentialed DREs. Rigorous standards are in place to ensure minimum requirements are met to maintain certification.

NHTSA supports continued development of the DECP and its subsidiary programs: The Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) Program; the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) Program; and the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program.

These knowledge and skill-based training curricula are used to meet the needs of law enforcement. The ever-changing landscape in the area of licit and illicit drug trends, especially as they relate to driver behavior, require continuous attention. Because of this, developing curricula that maintains a high level of awareness and expertise in these countermeasures is imperative to the continued use and success of these programs in the field. In addition, the proliferation of opiates and other regulated and non-regulated substances, along with the widespread legalization of cannabis have shown the potential of putting more impaired drivers on the nation's highways. Law enforcement will need to increase its training and countermeasures to remove this growing segment of impaired drivers from American roadways.

NHTSA seeks creative applications that will bring novel approaches to further develop and demonstrate the DEC Program.

[1] NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts, Alcohol Impaired Driving, 2013, http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812102.pdf

[2] NHTSA, 2007 National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers, http://www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Research+&+Evaluation/2007+National+Roadside+Survey+of+Alcohol+and+Drug+Use+by+Drivers

[3]State And Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2013, US-DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics, https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5684