The Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program was developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with input from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. ARIDE was created to address the gap in training between the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC/DRE) Program.
The SFST program trains officers to identify and assess drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, while the DEC/DRE 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 12-step evaluation in a more controlled environment such as a jail or a detention facility.
ARIDE is intended to bridge the gap between the SFST and DEC/DRE programs by providing officers with general knowledge related to drug impairment and by promoting the use of DREs in states that have the DEC Program. This course will train law enforcement officers to observe, identify and articulate the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both, in order to reduce the number of impaired driving incidents as well as crashes which result in serious injuries and fatalities. This course will educate judges and prosecutors to help them understand the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both & to enable them to effectively work with law enforcement in order to reduce the number of impaired driving incidents, as well as crashes, which result in serious injuries and fatalities.
2024 Impaired Driving Enforcement Training Dates