Failing a Field Sobriety Test without being drunk

Understanding the Field Sobriety Test

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Field sobriety tests are nearly synonymous with a DUI stop. Like the NFL rules regarding a legal catch, very few people know how to interpret a Field Sobriety Test, and even fewer drivers know that they are optional. Most drivers mistakenly believe that they are mandatory. Here’s the rub, many people take them and “fail,” even though they were not even under the influence. One would wonder how a person can fail the field sobriety test without being under the influence?

Law enforcement agencies all across the country use a number of field sobriety tests as a means to interpret a driver’s coordination, balance, and motor skills. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has standardized and approved three field sobriety tests. These test include are:

1. Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test
2. The Walk-and-Turn Test
3. The One-Leg Stand Test

This is good that there are some nationalized standards, but many law enforcement agencies also use non-approved field sobriety tests to gather the probable for a DUI arrest.

Tiredness

• Driving tired is dangerous, and we should hope that tired or sleepy drivers would pull over.
• However, driving while tired may be dangerous, but it is not illegal.
• Tired individuals can exhibit many of the same symptoms of intoxication.
• When the symptoms of tiredness mimic the symptoms of intoxication, officers often mistake this for DUI/DWI.

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