Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 11, 1990 TAG: 9003081994
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It could provide an unusual instance of a technical solution to a vexing social problem: in this case, the conflict between those who want to screen out impaired workers and those who say drug testing is an invasion of privacy.
The test, which operates much like a video game and takes less than a minute, measures the ability to perform tasks requiring fine hand-eye coordination and quick reaction time, like flying an airplane, driving a bus or operating a crane.
The space agency and the Air Force have used the technique as a research tool, and it has been used experimentally to detect drunkenness in drivers.
Advocates say it is an ideal practical way of testing workers in jobs where safety is critical.
The test is far easier and quicker than urinalysis and other procedures used to determine employee fitness. And because it focuses on impairment rather than on its cause, and on the ability to perform a job rather than on the worker's life off the job, its advocates say it answers the concerns of those who object to drug testing on the ground that it invades workers' privacy.
Such objections have hampered efforts to test the fitness of employees to perform safety-related jobs and have prompted legal challenges to new federal regulations requiring random drug testing for truck drivers, stalling the issue in the courts.
The new test is designed to assess employees' fitness on the spot, just before they begin work. Advocates point out that the results of urine tests are usually not known for days, during which impaired workers might cause accidents.
Moreover, the computerized test is said to detect impairment from any cause - drugs, alcohol, lack of sleep, emotional stress, over-the-counter medicines, illness or anything else.
by CNB