If an officer stops you and suspects you of drinking and driving, he may perform several tests. Thankfully, our legal system doesn’t allow a DUI arrest without proof. So, even if the officer can smell alcohol on your breath, he’ll need to be able to that show you’re intoxicated. One of the tests he may ask you to complete is a field sobriety test. This requires you to perform several tasks that can gauge your balance, coordination, and ability to follow direction. However, this test has a lot of moving parts and can be difficult even when you’re totally sober. Therefore, it’s best to know what you’re getting into if you ever face a field sobriety test…
Field Sobriety Test: What to Expect
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)
One part of the field sobriety test includes the HGN, which examines your eye movement. When you move your eyes up at different angles, your eyeball jerks involuntarily. This is totally normal, subtle, and happens naturally when you’re sober. However, when you’ve been drinking, that jerking movement becomes more extreme. So, an officer may ask you to follow an object, such as a pen, with only your eyes. While you do this, he will test to see if you can follow the object smoothly and how your eyeball moves at different angles.
Walk-and-Turn
The next part of a field sobriety test is the walk and turn. During this exercise, an officer will ask you to take nine steps forward then turn around and come back. However, you have do this while walking heel-to-toe, in a straight line. Then, you must turn around on one foot in order to come back. While you do this, an officer will examine your balance. He may look for you to begin before he gives you the instructions, stop while walking in order to regain balance, or use your arms to steady yourself. In fact, it may even count against you if you don’t walk heel-to-toe correctly or take the wrong amount of steps.
One-Leg Stand
The last part of a field sobriety test is the one-leg stand. For this exercise, you’ll raise one leg roughly 6 inches from the ground. While you do this, the officer may ask you to count using “one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two” until he says stop. They usually allow you to count for 30 seconds. During that time, he’ll look to see if you put your foot down, hop around, or use your arms for balance.
In short, a field sobriety test combine several tests of movement and balance. Just a few wrong motions during any task can result in your ‘failing’ the test. But even when you’re sober, maintaining your balance through these exercises can be hard. Therefore, a field sobriety test can be a poor representation of your intoxication.
