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37 New Eng. J. on Crim. & Civ. Confinement 159 (2011)
Drunk Drivers and Vampire Cops: The Gold Standard

handle is hein.journals/nejccc37 and id is 161 raw text is: Drunk Drivers and Vampire Cops: The Gold Standard' Holly Hinte2 I. INTRODUCTION A driver is pulled over for erratic driving. An officer suspects the driver of drinking and, after he refuses a breathalyzer, the officer asks the driver to step out of the vehicle and to place his arm on the hood of the car. The officer then proceeds to draw the driver's blood. This is exactly what happens under a new federal pilot program implemented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2009. The NHTSA developed this program to determine if drawing blood by law-enforcement officers can be an effective tool against drunken drivers and aid in their prosecution.' Under this program, officers from selected states will receive training on drawing blood from persons suspected of impaired driving.5 NHTSA has collected data that shows blood tests measure blood 1. NAT'L HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMIN., U.S. DEP'T OF TRANSP., No. DOT HS 810 704, PILOT TEST OF NEW ROADSIDE SURVEY METHODOLOGY FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING 10 (2009) (stating that blood samples are the gold standard for impaired driving testing). 2. Candidate for Juris Doctor, New England Law I Boston, 2011; B.S. in Media Studies-Journalism, Radford University, 2008. I would like to thank the Journal staff, my professors, and my ECNE for their guidance and assistance in the completion of this Note. I would also like to give a special thanks to my wonderful parents and Ryan whose encouragement, love, and support have helped me reach my goals and dreams. 3. See Kelsey P. Black, Note, Undue Protection Versus Undue Punishment: Examining the Drinking and Driving Problem Across the United States, 40 SUFFOLK U. L. REV. 463, 463-64 (2007) (discussing the impaired driving problem). The severity of the impaired driving problem has prompted the NHTSA and various other groups to conduct research and implement new programs and laws to decrease impaired driving and accompanying fatalities. Id Regardless, intoxicated drivers still cause a disturbingly high number of deaths. Id 4. Associated Press, Officers' New Tool Against D. W.I.: Syringe, N.Y. TIMES, Sept. 13, 2009, at All, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/us/14blood.html. 5. Id. Although no information is available on exact training procedures, officers will be trained under the same program as other phlebotomists in their state, but under a highly compressed schedule. Id. 159

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