Police in Britain are testing a handheld “impairment detector” that rather than check a person’s breath for alcohol or other illegal substances, is basically a PDA running some special software program that tests a person’s motor skills and concentration:
In the first test, volunteers are asked to use a stylus to track an object moving across the screen of a PDA, while every so often another object pops up in the corner of the screen. When that happens, the volunteers are required to press a button while continuing to track the moving object. This test assesses the subject’s ability to perform a motor control task while their attention is diverted by unexpected events. In the second task, road signs flash up on the screen every second. The driver has to respond to each of them, except a “target” sign that they have been told about at the start of the test. When the target flashes up they must not respond. This is known as a “sustained attention” task, and measures a person’s ability to concentrate.
Read [Thanks, John]
