Course Overview: Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) Refresher, an eLearning course, reinforces key concepts that law enforcement officers apply to observe, identify, and articulate the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both to reduce the number of impaired driving incidents, serious injury, and fatal crashes. The guidance provided in this course is not intended to be prescriptive; rather, it is designed to be adaptable and generally applicable to law enforcement practitioners who serve in varied communities.
This course supports law enforcement practitioners in their efforts to effectively assess impaired drivers at roadside. As a refresher, the course reinforces the key concepts presented in the full, 16-hour, instructor-led ARIDE course. The design of course content supports officers in the enforcement of DWI (Driving While Impaired) offenses, especially those that may involve drug impairment. This training enhances learners' understanding of the role of the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and facilitates better utilization of DREs in the field. For those communities with no DREs or limited access to their services, this course helps officers make informed decisions related to testing and documentation of drug-impaired driving cases.
Learning Objectives:
- Define and describe impaired driving enforcement training programs
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and how this course supports the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program
- Describe the purpose and proper administration of eye examinations and additional impairment tests, including Lack of Convergence (LOC), Modified Romberg Balance (MRB), and Finger-to-Nose (FTN)
- Describe the general effects of drugs from each of the seven drug categories
- Articulate possible effects of polydrug use related to the general indicators of alcohol and drugs
- List signs which may emerge during the DWI detection process indicating the subject is under the influence of a drug
- Interpret the totality of the evidence to support the decision to arrest or release the subject
- Identify circumstances that may require a call for a DRE to assist with the investigation
- Identify resources and personnel required for effective post-arrest screening
- Accurately document all aspects of the DWI arrest from the time of observation through the post-arrest processing
- Accurately document, in the proper event sequence order, observed impairment in each of the three phases of the detection process
- Identify additional resources to support prosecution
- Prepare a comprehensive case file for effective courtroom presentation
- Articulate relevant evidence as it relates to case preparation and prosecution
Target Audience: The ARIDE Refresher course is intended for those who have previously completed the full, instructor-led ARIDE course. This refresher does not replace the initial 16-hour ARIDE course; rather, it is designed to strengthen and sustain the learner’s understanding of the concepts presented in that course. Like the initial ARIDE course, this refresher bridges the gap between Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) courses and DRE courses, providing an enhanced level of awareness to law enforcement officers of drug impairment in the context of traffic safety. This course does not act as a substitute for the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program and will not qualify or certify an individual as a DRE.
Cooperative Partners: This tuition-free online training was developed by the National Center for Policing Innovation (NCPI), formerly known as Virginia Center for Policing Innovation, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and was supported by cooperative agreement 2020-CK-WXK-037 by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
Learning Hours: 4 hours including the pre-test and post-test.
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