THOSE DOPEY DRIVERS

Cops Need Training To Spot Them

RCMP officials are hoping to train its front-line officers to recognize
when drivers on Manitoba's highways are impaired by drugs.

"We want to be able to determine what drivers on the road under the
influence of a drug," spokesman Sgt. Steve Saunders said yesterday.

Last week, Pembroke, Ont. resident Rick Reimer was acquitted of driving
while impaired by marijuana -- despite having a joint in his hand when
police pulled his car off the road.

There wasn't enough evidence to prove the multiple sclerosis sufferer --
who has an exemption to smoke pot -- was impaired "beyond a reasonable
doubt," said Justice Bruce McPhee.

Saunders said the decision got police thinking about whether they could
effectively recognize drug impairment.

The Manitoba RCMP has just two drug-recognition experts, trained by their
counterparts in Saskatchewan.

Saunders said he would like to see traffic officers and, ultimately, all
front-line cops, receive the same expertise.

"It's in the very early developmental stages," he said.

The RCMP is also working with the provincial justice department to develop
a standardized field sobriety test -- capable of standing up in court.

Saunders said motorists touching their finger to their nose or walking in a
straight line are examples of field sobriety tests but they are not
recognized as official methods of finding an impaired person.

The tests, when developed, will need to be accepted judicially -- similar
to the early days of the breathalyser machine.

Both plans likely won't come to fruition for years, Saunders added.