CDOT Cognitive Roadside Device Evaluation Study

Lyon, Craig; Vanlaar, Ward; Robertson, Robyn D; Davis, Glenn; Janes, Brittany · 2023 · ROSA P / Colorado. Dept. of Transportation

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Summary

This study, commissioned by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) pursuant to House Bill 22-1321, evaluates the viability of the Cognivue Thrive device as a roadside screening tool for drug-impaired driving. The research was motivated by the increasing prevalence of drug-impaired driving following cannabis legalization and the limitations of current enforcement strategies. Unlike alcohol, drugs lack a clear concentration-effect relationship, making per se limits problematic and blood or saliva tests insufficient for determining real-time impairment. The study aimed to determine if cognitive testing technology could provide a more efficient and accurate method for law enforcement to detect impairment, potentially reducing reliance on specialized Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) officers. The researchers employed an experimental design involving 149 participants recruited from a public venue in Boulder, Colorado. Participants were screened via preliminary breath tests (excluding those with BAC ≥ 0.08) and oral fluid drug tests to balance the sample between those testing positive and negative for drugs. Each participant completed the Cognivue Thrive assessment, a computerized test measuring cognitive domains such as vision, perception, and memory, followed by a blood draw. Blood samples were analyzed using immunoassay screening and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry confirmation for various drug categories, including cannabis, stimulants, depressants, and narcotic analgesics. The study used Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses to calculate the Area Under the Curve (AUC) to assess the device’s sensitivity and specificity, comparing device results against blood test results as the "ground truth." The findings indicated that the Cognivue Thrive device performed poorly in detecting drug impairment. AUC values ranged from 0.41 to 0.50 across all drug categories, well below the acceptable threshold of 0.7–0.8. The device produced a high rate of false negatives, with more subjects testing positive for drugs in their blood being judged "non-impaired" by the device than "impaired." Conversely, among subjects with no drugs detected in their blood, the device judged roughly equal numbers as impaired and non-impaired, indicating a substantial number of false positives. Logistic regression analysis revealed no consistent or statistically significant impact of age or biological sex on the agreement between device results and blood tests, though the sample was heavily skewed toward participants under 30 years old. The study concludes that while the concept of cognitive screening shows promise, the Cognivue Thrive device in its current form is not satisfactory for detecting drug impairment. The authors highlight significant limitations, including the small, young sample size and the fact that the device was not designed for roadside use. The report identifies critical technology, legal, and legislative issues, such as the need for robust validation, protocols for non-DRE officers, and legislative frameworks to define how device results relate to arrest decisions. The researchers recommend future studies with larger, more representative samples, potentially using arrested drivers or controlled "green lab" settings, to further evaluate the validity and reliability of such technologies.

Key finding

The Cognivue Thrive device demonstrated poor accuracy in detecting drug impairment, with Area Under the Curve scores between 0.41 and 0.50, indicating it could not reliably differentiate between drivers with drugs in their blood and those without.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 149

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• illicit drugs
• dui enforcement
• polydrug
• cannabis
• drowsy as impairment
• fitness to drive assessment

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Methodological Resource: validation psychometrics