Towards the Validation of an Observational Tool to Detect Impaired Drivers—An Online Video Study

Abstract

Abuse of alcohol and other drugs is a major risk factor at work. To reduce this risk, workplace drug testing is performed in transportation and other industries. VERIFY, an observational method, is one of the key elements in a procedure adopted by the police of the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, for detecting impaired drivers. The observational method has been successfully applied by adequately trained police officers since 2014. The aim of this study is to examine the interrater reliability of the observational method, the effect of training in use of the method, and the role of having experience in the police force and traffic police force on the outcome when rating a driver’s impairment. For this purpose, driver impairment in staged road traffic controls presented in videos was rated by laypeople (n = 81), and police officers without (n = 146) and with training (n = 172) in the VERIFY procedure. In general, the results recorded for police officers with training revealed a moderate to very good interrater reliability of the observational method. Among the three groups, impaired drivers were best identified by officers with training (ranging between 82.6% and 89.5% correct identification). Trained officers reported a higher impairment severity of the impaired drivers than the other two groups, indicating that training increases sensitivity to signs of impairment. Our findings also suggest that online video technology could be helpful in identifying impaired drivers. Trained police officers could be connected to a road traffic control to make observations via live video. By this method efficiency and reliability in detecting abuse of alcohol and other drugs could be improved. Our findings also apply to workplace drug testing in general.

The Redesign of a Checklist for Evaluating Driver Impairment: A Human Factors and Ergonomics Approach

“…Furthermore, approximately 10% of the police officers mentioned the extent to which the driver followed their instructions (e.g., opening the window, turning off the radio). Since observing how drivers cope with multiple tasks belongs to a key part of the VERIFY procedure [ 9 ], it would make sense to add ‘Completion of tasks: yes/partly/no’ to the checklist. In approximately 8% of the cases, a white-coated tongue was observed; this can occur after THC consumption.…”

“…The checklist is part of the observational method VERIFY (a German acronym: Verfahren zur Identifikation von Fahrunfähigkeit—Procedure for identification of driving impairment) and has been successfully utilized for traffic control since 2014. Detailed information on the theory behind VERIFY can be found in the work of Baertsch et al [ 9 ]. Ideally, the checklist is applied immediately after drivers have been stopped by the police.…”

Computerized Predictive Analysis of Accidents (FOCOS/PRONTOS System): Study of Rare Cases

“…There is evidence of multiple factors contributing to unsafe workplaces, including unsafe conditions, technical factors, complexity of the site structure, and unsafe human behavior [8,9]. Some of the causes attributed to these issues are mental fatigue from stressful work environments, excessive time and workload demands, abuse of alcohol and other drugs, negative attitudes towards work, and managerial errors in decision-making that increase risktaking behavior; irregular sleep patterns, loneliness, and distraction from interactive automotive technology interfaces [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Another factor is heat stress and difficulty in evaluating biometric signs and thermophysiological constraints, implicated as being among the factors that increase vulnerability to accident and injury risks during work [16].…”