Police officers use a variety of methods to determine if a driver is impaired. One of the things they may opt to use is a field sobriety test. There are many different versions of these tests, but they aren’t all created equally.
There are three specific tests that are part of the standardized field sobriety test (SFST). These are considered reliable enough to be included in a drunk driving case. Understanding a bit about these tests is critical for anyone who’s facing a drunk driving charge.
Reliability and consistency
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) evaluated multiple tests and determined that only a few meet the necessary reliability standards for a criminal case. Tests that aren’t included in the official SFST are considered unreliable because there’s a chance of too much variability in the determination of results by the administering officer.
3 tests in the SFST
The SFST consists of three specific tests:
- Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus: The officer observes the driver’s eye movements for involuntary jerking.
- Walk-and-Turn: The driver must walk heel-to-toe in a straight line, turn and walk back.
- One-Leg Stand: The driver is asked to stand on one leg while counting aloud.
These tests are considered standardized because they follow strict guidelines and have been proven to identify impairment reliably. While officers may use additional non-standardized tests, only the SFST is widely accepted as scientifically validated. The inclusion of non-standardized tests in a criminal case might be a point for a defense strategy to include.