The finger to nose sobriety test is one of the most well known and least understood tests in the in the repertoire of tests police administer to suspected 
“drunk drivers.” When an officer is administering such a test, he will ask the driver to follow some instructions. He will ask the driver to stand with his feet together; the driver will then be asked to extend his arms out to his side with only finger point out. Following this step, the driver must have his head tilted back with his eyes closed. Next, the officer will give a command, either left or right, and whichever command is given, the driver must take that hand and touch his finger to his nose. During the administration of this test, the officer is observing the level of stability the driver can exhibit while on his feet. If the tip of the man’s finger touches the tip of his nose, he uses the correct hand, and is able to follow the instructions given very closely, the test will be considered to be a pass. However, if the driver opens his eyes, or brings his arms back to his side, he may be deemed to have failed that particular test.
Jessica, an officer on staff in our office, has reported that in her experience with DWI offenders, most of them miss touching the tips of their nose more than once and touch somewhere above or below missing by at least an inch. She says that it is usually not difficult to figure out whether the driver of a vehicle is intoxicated; most of the time they are swaying back and forth, or using the wrong hand, or touching somewhere on their face nowhere near the nose. Jessica has mentioned that the most accurate test, in her experience, is the finger-to-nose test, due to the fact that it requires the driver to multitask. Therefore, if you are pulled over and comply with the field sobriety test, this is one of the tests most drivers fear.
