Field Sobriety Tests are one of the ways for police officers to determine whether or not a suspected individual was drunk driving. If you have already been arrested for DUI before, then you’ll be familiar with the steps of the DUI arrest. First of all, the police officer will observe your driving skills; if he thinks you are not driving properly or suspects drunk driving, then he or she will signal you to pull over which you should do appropriately and in the right place. Next, you must know, that the police officer is trained to listen carefully to your speech, smell your breath, observe the color of your skin and your appearance while he judges whether or not you need to be tested further for drunk driving. If he feels that there is some sort of abnormality in the above mentioned physical attributes, then he or she will ask you to step out of the car. In such a situation it is best to be polite, and not be rude but you should know that you can refuse these field sobriety tests although, doing so might be a further indication of abnormal behavior associated with drunk driving.
Field Sobriety Tests
These are not basically tests but a series of physical exercises meant to test the physical agility of the suspected individual. Some of the more common tests employed by the police officer include:
Nine Step walk and turn: This test will require you to walk heel to toe for nine steps, turn and then walk nine steps back in the same way. The officer will be looking for wobbling, balance control etc.
One leg stand: This test or exercise will require you to stand on one leg and count or recite the alphabet and is supposed to ascertain whether or not you can divide your attention between two tasks. The police officer will look for hopping, swaying and putting your foot down.
Finger to nose: This particular test or exercise will require the suspect to stand straight with their feet clasped together and eyes closed. The suspect is then required to bring their index finger close to their nose. Through this test the police officer will be looking for swaying, body tremors, muscle tension or any such movement that may indicate drunkenness.
The Rhomberg Balance Test: The suspect is required to stand to attention for this test or exercise and close their eyes with their head tilted backward. The test requires you to count to 30 seconds because in case of alcohol, your counting speed will be slow and it will be fast in case of stimulants.
The police officer may also employ certain other field sobriety tests all of which will check for your ability to divide your attention among different tasks as one is normally required to do so during driving a motor vehicle. Remember, there are many people who are innocent and sober but because of many reasons cannot perform these field sobriety tests and are often arrested and charged with DUI. So the best thing for you should be to refrain from performing these Field Sobriety Tests and politely refusing. Do not, in any case be rude to the police officer because this can make things harder for you if you are arrested for DUI and have to face a trial. But still our advice to you about Field Sobriety Tests will remain the same and any experienced and knowledgeable DUI/DWI lawyer will also tell you the same thing. The breath test on the other hand, will be necessary for you and refusing to take the breath test can result in an automatic DUI arrest, as well as driver’s license suspension.
You should also know that although Field Sobriety Tests are not a must but are voluntary, in some States, you can still be required to take them and refusal to do so can result in license revocation. Therefore, drunk driving is a serious crime in all the States of the country and moreover, the DUI arrest can be pretty hard and therefore, you need to know how best to handle the situation with a police officer, before you actually get to face it. Don’t take DUI charges or a DUI arrest lightly because depending upon the facts of your case, you can be penalized severely and that can injure your career and your personal freedom. For more information regarding Field Sobriety Tests or Drunk Driving, visit www.MyDUIAttorney.org or call at 800-DUI-Help.
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