The Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) training prepares police officers and other qualified persons to administer and interpret the results of the SFST battery. This training under the auspices and direction of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has experienced remarkable success in detecting and apprehending intoxicated drivers since its inception in the 1980s. 

The Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program was developed by NHTSA with input from the IACP TAP and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. ARIDE was created to address the gap in training between the SFST and the DEC Program.

The SFST program trains officers to identify and assess drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol while the DEC Program provides more advanced training to evaluate suspected drug impairment. The SFST assessment is typically employed at roadside, while an officer trained as a drug recognition expert (DRE) through the DEC Program conducts a drug evaluation in a more controlled environment such as a detention facility.

ARIDE is intended to bridge the gap between these two programs by providing officers with general knowledge related to drug impairment and promoting the use of DREs in states that have the DEC Program. One of the most significant aspects of ARIDE is its review and required student demonstration of the SFST proficiency requirements. The ARIDE program also stresses the importance of securing the most appropriate biological sample in order to identify substances likely causing impairment.

ARIDE is a 16-hour training course, which in most states is conducted under the control and approval of the DEC Program state coordinator. The principal instructors for the course are state-qualified and IACP-credentialed DRE instructors; specifically, that they (1) hold current and valid certificates as DREs; (2) have completed the NHTSA/IACP DRE Instructor Development Course (IDC); and (3) have completed the required delivery of both classroom and certification training, under the supervision of credentialed DRE instructors.

A qualified SFST instructor can instruct Sessions I-III, leading to the preparation and evaluation of participants during the SFST proficiency examination. In addition to their occupational competencies, all instructors must be qualified trainers. They need to understand, and be able to apply, fundamental principles of instruction. Perhaps most importantly, they need to be competent coaches. Much of the classroom training is devoted to hands-on practice. The quality of coaching will have a major impact on the success of those practice sessions.It is highly recommended that every instructor be a graduate of the IDC.

Some agencies may wish to enlist instructors with special credentials for certain blocks of instruction. For example, a physician would be well qualified to assist or teach Session IV, and a prosecutor might be a good choice for Session VIII.

The training also promotes interaction with representatives from the state’s prosecution community. Part of the course is intended to be taught by a local prosecutor or the state’s traffic safety resource prosecutor (TSRP).

Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) School is a course consisting of three training phases that, collectively, prepare police officers and other qualified persons to serve as DREs. The phases include the Preliminary School (16 hours), the Main School (56 hours) and certification training which involve evaluating actual impaired individuals. Law enforcement officers who have arrested a drug-impaired driver should utilize the assistance of a DRE to assist in gathering important evidence for the impaired driving investigation. As part of the investigation, the DRE will be able to: 

1) Determine if the subject is impaired; 

2) Determine if the impairment is resulting from an injury, medical condition, or drugs; and 

3) Determine, if drug-related, what category (or categories) of drugs is (or are) the likely cause of the subject’s impairment.

The purpose of this training is to provide workplace employers and supervisors with a systematic approach to recognizing and evaluating individuals in the work environment who are using and may be impaired by drugs, to provide early intervention and promote workplace safety.

This training is not intended to qualify participants as experts in drug impairment detection but rather its purpose is to aid in the evaluation and documentation of those suspected of using drugs and those impaired by drugs. This training is developed with employers, managers, and leaders in mind to increase workplace safety by intervening in dangerous behaviors caused by drug or alcohol impairment in the workplace.

The purpose of this training is to provide school administrators, educators, and nurses with a systematic approach to recognizing and evaluating individuals in the academic environment who are using and are impaired by drugs, in order to provide early intervention.

The purpose of this training is to aid in the evaluation and documentation of those suspected of using drugs and impaired by drugs in an educational setting. For the purpose of this training, the definition of a drug is “any substance that alters perception or behavior reducing that individual’s ability to function appropriately in the academic environment.”

An increasing body of data suggests that an appreciable percentage of inappropriate behavior may be due to the influence of drugs and alcohol, either alone or in combination. Estimates of this appreciable percentage vary, but all estimates agree that the average professional educator will almost inevitably encounter impaired individuals from time to time. It is important, therefore, that the educator be able to recognize when he or she has encountered an impaired individual and understand how to deal with this situation in the academic environment.