How Fatigued Truckers Can Save Correctional Administrators Time and Money

• NCJ Number: 187484
• Journal: Corrections Today Volume: 63 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 114-116,118
• Author(s): Lee Mockensturm
• Date Published: February 2001
• Length: 4 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

This article reviews an innovative technology, the pupillometry device (the measurement of pupil parameters), named EyeCheck, which has been shown to be an accurate predictor of drug use offering corrections a valid, quick, noninvasive method for drug testing.

Abstract

This article looks at how correctional agencies have shown critical interest in the pupillometry device, EyeCheck, being tested by the Michigan State Police that measures the fatigue level in truck drivers. This same technology can be used as a noninvasive drug-testing device, which could save correctional administrators both time and money. The device resembles a pair of binoculars plugged into a laptop computer. The binocular component measures the pupils' response to light and stores the information, which then is retrieved and read by the laptop computer. The process takes about one minute. The technology was then tested, by the West Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC), to see whether it would be as reliable and accurate as urinalysis, the primary method for drug testing by the West Virginia DOC. The results showed that the pupillometry device is an accurate predictor of drug use when compared to urinalysis and other testing methods. The device requires an initial outlay of money, which could be prohibitive, but the potential savings would be substantial. In addition, the device was shown to take significantly less time than it would take to collect samples (50-man block in about one-half hour). The article noted that the results from this technology have not been tested in court and are limited to probable cause findings. References