DUI ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS AT ROADSIDE

Traffic officers'views provide an important perspective on problems which occur during roadside enforcement activities. They consider their alcohol-related decisions to be most difficult when the suspect is an alcohol-tolerant individual who displays few behavioral symptoms of impairment. Officers' roadside problems are compounded when information which is essential to their decisions about alcohol and drug-impaired susptects is not available to them. For example, their decisions are expected to reflect current laws, but the availability of pertinent data may lag for behind changes in laws. Research cannot keep pace with a continually changing drug scene on the one hand, nor can officers' enforcement responsibilities be delayed on the other. They must make roadside decisions with or without supporting facts. With some justification, they believe the attribution of roadside mistakes solely to them is improper.