Police officers who pull people over on suspicion of impaired driving need evidence to justify an arrest and help the state pursue criminal charges later. Police officers often follow drivers to record erratic conduct on the road with their dashboard cameras.
They ask direct questions about a person’s prior activities. They may also ask a driver to exit their vehicle and perform a series of field sobriety tests. A field sobriety test is a physical task a driver performs to help validate whether or not they are under the influence while driving.
What can drivers expect during field sobriety testing?
Officers administer standardized tests
Contrary to humorous depictions in popular media, police officers cannot make up their own tests and impose bizarre demands on drivers to screen them during traffic stops. Instead, they typically administer the three standardized field sobriety tests in a location where they can record.
Those three tests are the one-leg stand test, the walk-and-turn test and the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. The first two involve having the driver demonstrate balance and the ability to walk in a straight line.
The third test requires that a driver follow a moving object from side to side with their eyes while keeping their heads stationary. Officers watch for muscle spasms that can be indicative of intoxication. Drivers do generally have the right to decline field sobriety testing without risking immediate arrest or additional criminal charges.
Those who fail field sobriety tests can work with a lawyer to explain their test performance or exclude poor test results in some cases. Reviewing different options for a drunk driving defense strategy with a skilled legal team can help people avoid convictions that could otherwise affect their finances, freedom and reputations.