Field sobriety tests (FSTs) are made use of by police officers to recognize and arrest drivers suspected of driving drunk (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI). These results may possibly be used as part of the case if you’re charged with a DUI-DWIcrime.

Upon being halted by a officer, you could be faced with a request to perform an FST whether you had a drink or not. Familiarity with the commonÔøΩtests conducted by police, how test results are viewed and utilised, and the shortcomings of FST methods are facts you should really know as an educated and prepared driver.

While you can find a large body of research supporting the validity and accuracy of FSTs commonly used by police, there is also a lot of controversy associated with FSTs.

The Standard Field Sobriety Test Battery

There is a common battery of 3 FSTsÔøΩfrom studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

1.The one-leg stand test – a driver is asked to stand with arms down and one foot suspended about 6 inches above the ground
2.The walk-and-turn (WAT) test – a driver is asked to walk a straight line, placing the heel of the stepping foot at the toe of the back foot, turning, and walking back
3.The horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test – a driver is asked to track a moving object with his eyes while holding his head steady

In an HGN test, the police officer will move a physical object, commonly a penlight, across a driver’s field of vision, and will watch for a characteristic jerking or bouncing movement (nystagmus) of the driver’s eyes when the eyes are positioned at a far horizontal point. Nystagmus is often present when a person has a blood alcohol content of .10% or more.

NHTSA studies have shown that a combination of tests, particularly the WAT and HGN tests, can be very accurate in detecting intoxication at levels of .10% or higher, but it should be remembered that FSTs are created to measure impairment, and fail to reveal the cause of impairment.

Stopping Your Vehicle

The police officer could possibly have stopped your automobile depending on aÔøΩtraffic violation and the suspicious movement of your automobile (this could possibly include things like weaving, wide turns or riding the center line of the road). You also might have been stopped at a sobriety checkpoint or roadblock, a valid method for the police to keep drunk drivers off the road, or to apprehend suspects in other types of crimes. While you’re still in the automobile, the officer searches for signs of intoxication depending on your responses, both vocal and physical, throughout asking you for your license and registration, or inquiring whether you have been drinking.

Your FST performance may give the police officer probable cause to arrest you for a DUI-DWI offense; a breath or blood test may be carried out in order to check your blood alcohol content (BAC).

Challenging FST Evidence

Your defense attorney may seek to fight the admissibility of FST evidence at trial in many ways, including questioning the police officer’s conduct in both stopping your vehicle and the method of conducting and interpreting the FSTs, challenging the accuracy of the test results based on your situation, and the specific use of FST evidence against you in proving your level of intoxication.

The accuracy of FST methods may be negatively affected by:

  • The driver’s age, weight, and physical condition
  • A large number of illnesses and medications, or the use of contact lenses
  • Less-than-optimal kerbside testing conditions
  • The police officer’s instruction and expertise in conducting and interpreting FSTs
  • Lack of baseline performance against which to determine a driver’s FST results

For help with a Macon Georgia criminal defense, contact a criminal attorney Macon Georgia.