Since the 1970’s, the law enforcement communities have incorporated a battery of three standard field sobriety tests. These three tests are designed so that a sober person can conduct these tests without any difficulty. The tests are the Horizontal Gaze, where your eyes have to follow the law enforcement’s finger, the Walk and Turn where you are expected to walk a line and turn then return to the officer and the One Leg Stand where you are required to stand on one leg for a short period of time. This helps the officer to determine if an arrest is to be made or not.
When a sober person can conduct these tests without a problem, then it stands to reason that any person that’s not intoxicated should be able to carry out the same. These tests, although they appear simple, give the officer a lot more information that you would think. The subjects are required to demonstrate the ability to follow instructions, as well as demonstrate balance and coordination. This divides the subject’s attention between mental and physical tasks.
The Horizontal eye test simply means the jerking of the eye. When a person is intoxicated this becomes much more pronounced because the subject has no control over this and cannot stop it. This is where a penlight shined into the eyes can determine if the subject is intoxicated or not. Of course, there are a small percentage of the population that have eye stigmas and this can lead to misdiagnosing. This is where the other field tests come into play, as it is not based on the one test.
The Walk and Turn test requires a hard dry surface where the subject can perform nine heel to toe steps. This test depends on the weather being that you have to have a clear straight line that is dry and safe for the person to perform this routine. If the conditions are not right, then this test should not be performed. There are some people that this test should not be used on such as the disabled and anyone over 65.
The One Leg Stand test must be performed on a smooth surface and of course there are times also when this test should not be preformed. The subject is asked to stand with both arms at their side and lift one leg and balance themselves on it, then the other leg, the law officer should demonstrate before asking the subject to do this.
Unlike the field test that requires you to go through the actions of proving you’re sober the chemical test has proven to be much more reliable. This test will probably be given after the subject is deemed to be intoxicated after trying to perform the field sobriety test. In the chemical test you will have to breathe into a Breathalyzer, which will record the alcohol level in your bloodstream. This is very effective in the courts. The amount of alcohol in your system can also be ascertained by blood or urine analyses. This is calculated by applying a mathematical formula to the amount of alcohol in your blood and urine.
If your test results show you are over the limit of your state, then you are presumed to be driving under the influence and will be charged with drunk driving. You will then have to appear in court to defend the charges. Claiming to be innocent of drunk driving charges when the evidence is against you could prove to be difficult, but cases have been won in favor of the defendant on a technicality.
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