UK: Police to test 'Game Boys' that detect use of drugs

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fruitfly

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Government scientists are developing a hand-held, Game Boy-style computer that will test the reactions of drivers suspected of using illicit drugs such as cocaine or speed.

Drivers stopped by the police will be asked to play with the device, which will be programmed with a sequence of game-like tests to analyse manual dexterity and mental alertness

If drivers fall below a certain standard, a police officer will be able to arrest them and take them to a station where they can be ordered to give a blood test.

The device will undergo the first clinical trials in the new year when more than 100 volunteers of varying ages will be asked to carry out tests while over the legal limit for alcohol.

Scientists from the Home Office Scientific Development Branch in Sandridge, Hertfordshire, said that the police have asked them to develop the road-side device because of the growing number of people who drive while taking illegal drugs.

A study in 1999 showed that there had been a six-fold increase over the previous 10 years in the number of people driving under the influence of cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines, yet there is still no simple detection method that traffic police can use to screen for offenders.

"Currently police use field-impairment tests and these are a bit like the old sobriety tests used in the 1960s before the advent of the alcohol breathalyser," a Home Office scientist said.

Six different tests are under development but by the time the device is ready to be issued to police forces only three of the tests will be programmed into the hand-held computer.
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Police to test 'Game Boys' that detect use of drugs
By Steve Connor, Science Editor, The Independent
Published: 23 November 2005

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fruitfly said:
Government scientists are developing a hand-held, Game Boy-style computer that will test the reactions of drivers suspected of using illicit drugs such as cocaine or speed.
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I am probably being a bit thick here, but don't stimulants, such as cocaine and phet, often speed up reactions? Can't imagine that driving on speed is any more dangerous than something like Red Bull.
 
7zark7 said:
I am probably being a bit thick here, but don't stimulants, such as cocaine and phet, often speed up reactions? Can't imagine that driving on speed is any more dangerous than something like Red Bull.
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well, seeing as something such as caffiene slows your reaction times, i think that the same effects would be present in stronger stimulants, even though they give you more energy and make you hypo. However, i dont know enough to be certain
 
Does anyone else think this will not work and die?

1. I play games better on ANY drug. Weed, alcohol, etc

2. On the flip side, I'm sure there are people who are useless at games even if they're sober. I realise its not going to be Tony Hawks Pro Skater or anything but they do say "game-like".

3. I'm kinda shitter at games in front of people who are watching. I imagine a cop would be like x3 this effect.
 
^ I don't think it's meant to specifically target speed and coke users. The writer obviously picked a couple of random illegal drugs to put in the article, and made the rather confusing choice of two stimulants. (Whether or not they do slow your reactions I don't know.)
Scientists from the Home Office Scientific Development Branch in Sandridge, Hertfordshire, said that the police have asked them to develop the road-side device because of the growing number of people who drive while taking illegal drugs.
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Wow, it must have taken some pretty clever research scientists to develop a reaction tester. Hardly cutting-edge technology, is it? For the same reason I'm a little surprised that the science editor wrote this piece...it should surely be in "Home News" somewhere. Obviously a slow day for him. EDIT: seems it was actually in the Crime section. Fair enough.
 
Yea stimulants would make me believe people would perform better on the test than others....


And what about people who just suck at games or are a little slow to comprehend things, they are going to be accused of using drugs?

This shit is bogus and if it sticks around long I will be more than surprised.
 
This seems far to subjective. What if you're abnormally quick or abnormally slow, are you considered high even when sober? It seems really easy to give a false positive.
 
MildKandy said:
Yea stimulants would make me believe people would perform better on the test than others....


And what about people who just suck at games or are a little slow to comprehend things, they are going to be accused of using drugs?

This shit is bogus and if it sticks around long I will be more than surprised.
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GentlemanLoser said:
This seems far to subjective. What if you're abnormally quick or abnormally slow, are you considered high even when sober? It seems really easy to give a false positive.
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Exactly.
 
GentlemanLoser said:
This seems far to subjective. What if you're abnormally quick or abnormally slow, are you considered high even when sober? It seems really easy to give a false positive.
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Indeed, and as someone else mentioned, your performance will also be a bit impaired by the cop breathing down your neck. So to avoid false positives they'll have to compensate by making the test really easy to pass, thereby making loads of false negatives instead and rendering the test pretty useless. I can't think of a way to make this work unless you first test how well everyone does when sober, as CreativeRandom suggested...but even then I think your performance would probably vary greatly from day to day, and certainly over the years.
 
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So it's not really practical as a field test. To pull this off, they'd need to know what your reactions were like sober. Maybe once they've already got you for something they could get a certified tester in there to administer a test, get a base line for your reaction times, THEN administor the test. But then it would cost too much and you'd be detained for longer than need be, and the ACLU would get involved.

It's not like how your eye twitches when you're drunk or how your speech is slurred and you stink like a distillery.

I'm all for a realistic way to test being on substance. People shouldn't drive on any drug, don't care what it is. That's a good step towards at LEAST decriminalization if there were an effective and reliable field test. That and there is no "legal limit" to how high on coke/e/whatever you can be like alcohol. So they'd have to study and figure out what amount in your system constitues being "too high to drive".
 
Mind you I'm still keen to have a go on this thing wasted AND sober though.

Hopefully it'll show up on the torrent sites sooner or later, lolzers.

Also there seems to be this claim that stimulants like meth will "make individuals more prone to error". Come on, am I niave in assuming only hardcore tweakers who've been up for more than a day and a half are going to be so high they are "prone to error"? I don't use that shit but when I have, I was able to keep it together kinda normal until at least 24 hours + being up. As far as I know I wasn't twitching and pressing things and interacting with things at the wrong times anyway.
 
If drivers fall below a certain standard, a police officer will be able to arrest them and take them to a station where they can be ordered to give a blood test.
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they obviously wouldnt get sent to jail straight up - arrested, and made to have a blood test.. if found negative - i'd presume they'd be let go..

heh, and no doubt this 'game' will be on the net, in no time.. if this goes ahead.. just practice ;)
 
povo said:
they obviously wouldnt get sent to jail straight up - arrested, and made to have a blood test.. if found negative - i'd presume they'd be let go..

heh, and no doubt this 'game' will be on the net, in no time.. if this goes ahead.. just practice ;)
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Even still it may proove to be a massive waste of resources to keep hauling people back to the station for a blood test and then escort them back to their vehicles when its found they're just uncoordinated for natural reasons.
 
MzAnthroP said:
They should have a field-dance-dance-revolution test, too.
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and while doing this dance you should be offered a selection of toys i.e glowsticks, phat pants, lollypops etc. haha, also the dance test should have a strode with it, hehe,

i think the main thing is they can make you do this, if they suspect you of using drugs they then have the authority to make you perform a drug test, so it is merely a way for them to get people who they think are on drugs to come to the station,
 
They should have a field-dance-dance-revolution test, too.
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Haha, I'd be driving drunk all the time if that was the case. I fucking rock DDR, and while I do not fucking rock it drunk, it is still alot of fun.
 
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