Police trying to nail impaired drivers before they hurt someone used to focus almost solely on drunk drivers.

The smell of alcohol and slurred speech were telltale signs that easily flagged police. Drivers who might have smoked pot or gotten high on medications were elusive.

But that might change in Lancaster County with a revolutionary eye-testing device that's already been deployed by 30 police departments throughout Pennsylvania in the last month.

The Pupillometer was demonstrated for police and the public Thursday at a press conference in East Hempfield Township.

Also at the event at the Lancaster County Public Safety Training Center, it was announced that a national crackdown on impaired drivers would come to Lancaster County over the Labor Day Weekend.

Additional sobriety checkpoints, roving patrols and the addition of state police drug recognition experts will mean an even tougher screening than normal on local roads this weekend.

By this time next year, local police may also be toting the Pupillometer in addition to Breathalyzers. No Lancaster County police departments currently have the new device, which costs $9,400 and is found now in 10 states.

A suspect peers into the handheld device, which measures the pupils' reaction to a flash of light. Within 21-w minutes, an attached computer determines whether the person passed or failed.

"We can rule out fatigue and medical issues," said George Geisler Jr., the Eastern Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Director of the Pennsylvania DUI Association, which endorses the new tool against impaired driving.

What the Pupillometer can detect with amazing accuracy is the presence of illegal drugs, controlled substances and over-the-counter medication. The device is sensitive enough that it would detect if someone had smoked marijuana within the past 30 days, Geisler said.

Drivers who flunk the Pupillometer undergo a 12-step evaluation of vital signs to determine if an arrest should occur. A blood test may be ordered, though Geisler said one would not be necessary.

About 60 percent of drivers who fail the Pupillometer test end up being arrested, he said.

A person could also fail because of fatigue, in which case the driver would probably be let go with a cautionary warning.

On public display Thursday at the county training center was a mobile DUI Victims' Moving Memorial, a 25-foot wall which carries the names of nearly 2,000 people killed by drunk drivers in Pennsylvania, including 45 from Lancaster, York and Dauphin counties.

Last Labor Day weekend, there were 493 alcohol-related crashes on Pennsylvania roads and 18 people lost their lives.

With added manpower on Lancaster County roads this weekend, C. Stephen Erni, executive director of the Pennsylvania DUI Association, issued this warning: "If you're going out and you're going to be driving under the influence of a substance, the chances of you getting caught are very good."

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