State launches new roadside surveys for alcohol, drugs

Have you ever wondered how many people are driving drunk or high at a given time? A first-of-its-kind roadside survey in Washington state where people can volunteer to undergo blood and breath tests could provide some answers.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission is partnering with a prominent national research firm to conduct the roadside surveys in six counties across the state.

Under the project, funded by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drivers are asked by a sign-waving researcher to pull over and take part in the survey.

Those that consent are asked a series of questions about their drug and alcohol use, and can also volunteer to give a blood or saliva sample, or blow into an alcohol-detecting breathalyzer.

“What this research is intended to do is give us a snapshot of how many people are impaired on alcohol and or drugs at any given time driving our roads here in Washington state,” says Jonna VanDyk, project manager with the state Traffic Safety Commission.

Drivers who agree to take part in the entire survey are given a $60 stipend for participating. It takes about 20 minutes to do the whole thing.

Researchers will conduct the surveys in six counties throughout the month of June. The project got underway over the weekend at a number of locations in Yakima and Spokane counties, with surveys in King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties to follow later this month.

The surveys will take place at a variety of locations in both large cities and small towns to give as broad a picture of the entire state as possible, VanDyk says.

You’d think only sober or teetotaling drivers would be willing to take part, limiting the study’s effectiveness. But VanDyk says a number of drivers who took part in a similar series of surveys in California ultimately tested positive for drugs or alcohol.

“They agree to do this for the same reason that everybody else agrees to do this and that is for the money,” she says. “I think they are getting as good of a snapshot of drug and alcohol impairment as could be gotten.”

Over 1,300 drivers took part in the 2012 survey across California, according to the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE). The organization is considered one of the nation’s preeminent independent, nonprofit groups focusing on individual and social problems associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs.

Fourteen percent tested positive for drugs – 7.4 percent of the drug positive drivers tested positive for pot, 2.7 percent tested positive for illegal drugs, PIRE reports. One percent of drivers in the California survey had a blood alcohol level of over .08, the legal limit.

VanDyk says the Washington surveys are timed in part to coincide with the legalization of marijuana. Researchers will return to the state in about seven months to conduct follow ups to determine the impact after retail marijuana stores are open in the state.

VanDyk emphasizes the surveys are strictly voluntary, and says they are strictly about research, not enforcement.

While law enforcement officers will be stationed at the roadside survey points to provide security, drivers who take part that are believed to be impaired will be offered a taxi, tow or hotel room. While they could be arrested if they refuse, VanDyk says she has been told by the research firm that not a single driver has been arrested following the survey in over 30,000 tests across the country.

The surveys are not without some controversy. A Pennsylvania man who claims he was forced to take part in a survey last December has filed a federal lawsuit, claiming his civil rights were violated.

Civil liberties advocates contend the government’s methods are intrusive and even unconstitutional. Some police departments have refused to partner on the survey or regretted their decision to do so in the wake of public outcry. In Tennessee, legislation that would ban law enforcement from helping out on the survey unanimously cleared the state senate last month.

VanDyk reiterates the surveys are completely voluntary, and participants can stop taking part at any time during the survey. She says the research is vital in continuing the effort to reduce needless deaths.

“Impaired driving is still the number one cause of fatal collisions in the state. So it’s a problem that is certainly not going away,” VanDyk says. “Many government agencies have programs addressing impaired driving and we need to have good research to guide those public investments.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.