DWI Enforcement & Detection Training

Training Goals

• The training aims to deter DWI violations, reducing crashes, deaths, and injuries caused by impaired drivers.
• Enforcement goals include identifying general DWI deterrence methods, DWI detection phases, clues and techniques, and requirements for presenting evidence in DWI cases.

Statistics and Data

• In 2020, 11,654 fatalities occurred in motor vehicle crashes involving at least one alcohol-impaired driver, representing 30% of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. for the year, averaging 32 deaths daily or one every 45 minutes.

Training Objectives

• Participants will demonstrate the ability to recognize and interpret DWI evidence, administer and interpret SFSTs, describe DWI evidence clearly in reports and testimony, and ensure consistency of video/audio evidence with other evidence.

Job Performance Enabling Objectives

• Understand DWI detection tasks and decisions.
• Recognize the magnitude of DWI-related consequences.
• Understand the deterrent effects of DWI enforcement.
• Understand the DWI enforcement legal environment.
• Know and recognize vehicle maneuvers and human indicators symptomatic of DWI.
• Know and recognize reinforcing maneuvers and indicators during the stopping sequence.
• Know and recognize sensory clues of alcohol and/or other drug impairment during face-to-face contact.
• Know and recognize behavioral clues of impairment during the subject's exit from the vehicle.
• Understand the role and relevance of psychophysical testing and preliminary breath testing in pre-arrest screening.
• Know and carry out administrative procedures for the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test.
• Know and carry out administrative procedures for validated divided attention psychophysical tests.
• Know and recognize clues of impairment during SFSTs.
• Understand factors affecting the accuracy of preliminary breath testing (PBT) devices.
• Understand elements of DWI prosecution and their relevance to DWI arrest reporting.
• Choose appropriate descriptive terms to convey observations of DWI evidence.
• Write clear, descriptive narrative DWI arrest reports.

Participant Manual

• The Participant Manual serves as a reference document with slide images and additional information for each session, intended for pre-class reading and review before the final exam.

Course Pre-Test Administration

• A pre-test is administered to evaluate participant knowledge gained with approximately 10 minutes allowed for completion.

DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) Glossary of Terms

• Addiction: Psychological and physiological dependence on a substance beyond voluntary control.
• Alveolar Breath: Breath from the deepest part of the lung.
• Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC): Percentage of alcohol in a person's blood.
• Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC): Percentage of alcohol in a person’s breath, measured by a breath testing device.
• Clue: Something that leads to the solution of a problem.
• Cue: A reminder or prompting as a signal to do something.
• Divided Attention: Concentrating on more than one thing at a time.
• Divided Attention Test: A test requiring concentration on mental and physical tasks simultaneously, such as Walk and Turn (WAT) and One Leg Stand (OLS).
• Drug Recognition Expert (DRE): An individual certified by IACP and NHTSA after completing DRE training.
• DWI/DUI: Synonymous terms referring to offenses involving vehicle operation under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs.
• DWI Detection Process: Identifying and gathering evidence to determine if a suspect should be arrested for a DWI violation.
• Phase One – Vehicle in Motion
• Phase Two – Personal Contact
• Phase Three – Pre-Arrest Screening
• Evidence: Means by which an alleged fact may be established or disproved, including physical evidence, facts, demonstrations, documents, and testimony.
• Expert Witness: A person with specialized knowledge assisting a jury by expressing opinions based on facts and their knowledge.
• Field Sobriety Test: Roadside tests used to determine impairment.
• Gait Ataxia: An unsteady, staggering walk that appears uncoordinated.
• General Indicator: Observed behaviors not specifically tested for.
• Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN): Involuntary jerking of the eyes as they gaze to the side.
• Impairment: Degradation of mental and/or physical abilities necessary for safe vehicle operation.
• Implied Consent Law: Suspected DWI drivers consent to chemical testing, with license sanctions for refusal.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: An Administration within the United States Department of Transportation that coordinates federal efforts to ensure the safe design and operation of motor vehicles.
• Nystagmus: Involuntary jerking of the eyes.
• One Leg Stand (OLS): A divided attention field sobriety test.
• Per Se: A law making it illegal to drive with a certain percentage of alcohol in the blood or breath.
• Personal Contact: The second phase in the DWI detection process.
• Pre-Arrest Screening: The third phase in the DWI detection process.
• Preliminary Breath Test (PBT): A pre-arrest breath test that indicates a person's blood alcohol concentration.
• Probable Cause: Facts and circumstances within an officer's knowledge that would lead a reasonable person to believe an offense has been or is being committed.
• Psychophysical: Relating to both mind and body, used to describe field sobriety tests.
• Psychophysical Tests: Methods investigating mental and physical characteristics of a person suspected of alcohol or drug impairment, often using divided attention.
• Reasonable Suspicion: Less than probable cause but more than mere suspicion.
• Resting Nystagmus: Jerking of the eyes as they look straight ahead.
• Standardized Field Sobriety Tests: NHTSA/IACP-approved tests, including HGN, WAT, and OLS, with validated clues of impairment.
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP): A current or former prosecutor who provides training, education and technical support to traffic crimes prosecutors and law enforcement agencies.
• Valid: Conforming to accepted principles and producing accurate results.
• Validated: A documented act of demonstrating that a procedure, process, and/or activity that will consistently lead to accuate and reliable results.
• Vehicle in Motion: The first phase in the DWI detection process.
• Vertical Gaze Nystagmus: Involuntary jerking of the eyes (up and down) which occurs when the eyes gaze upward at maximum elevation.
• Walk and Turn (WAT): A divided attention field sobriety test.

Training to reduce crashes, deaths, and injuries caused by impaired drivers. Covers DWI detection methods, clues, techniques, and evidence presentation. Participants learn to recognize DWI evidence, administer SFSTs, and describe evidence in reports and testimony.