If law enforcement has a “reasonable suspicion” that you are driving while intoxicated, then they can pull you over. Examples of incidents that could lead to reasonable suspicion of intoxication include drifting between lanes or over the “fog” line, slow driving, excessive speeding, or swerving.
However, law enforcement cannot arrest you without “probable cause” that you are intoxicated while driving. There are a few methods used to establish probable cause. One of those methods is the administration of field sobriety tests (FST). Although a FST is always voluntary, your refusal to participate could lead to an officer establishing probable cause for an arrest. That is, they assume that if you aren’t willing to undergo the test, you have something to hide. However, you should know that participating in field sobriety testing allows police to gather more “clues of impairment” that are used in a court of law.
Standardized Field Sobriety Tests
There are three standardized field sobriety tests. They include:
- Horizontal gaze nystagmus test. The HGN test looks for involuntary jerking in the eyes. The theory of the test is that an intoxicated person’s eyes will display more pronounced involuntary jerking when trying to look at an object from the corner of the eye. During the test, the officer will hold an object 12 to 15 inches away from the suspect’s nose and move it from side to side, while the person keeps a still head. The person is not to move their head, but track the object (usually a finger or pencil) with their eyes. The officer looks for exaggerated jerking of the eyes, and jerking at the eyes at a smaller angle (usually less than 45 degrees).
- Walk-and-turn. The officer will ask you to take nine steps heel-to-toe in a straight line, turn on one foot, and return nine heel-to-toe steps. The officer looks for balance issues when listening and turning, incorrect number of steps, using the arms to balance, or failing to touch heel-to-toe.
- One-leg stand test. The officer will ask you to stand with one foot about six inches off the ground and count from 1,0001 until you are instructed to put it down. Intoxicated individuals often can’t do this without putting their foot down, hopping, swaying, or using their arms.
Can You Fail Sobriety Tests While Sober?
Yes. Unfortunately, people can fail these tests while sober. Reasons why somebody might fail the test include:
- Wearing contact lenses or medical conditions. If you wear contact lenses and an officer asks you to perform a field sobriety test, you should mention this right away. Or, if you suffer from eye conditions and/or brain trauma, these factors can heavily interfere with the reliability of the HGN test.
- Balance issues. The one-leg stand, for example, is used to diagnose balance problems. Anyone who suffers from being overweight and/or poor athletic skills is likely to struggle to navigate the one-leg stand test, as well as the walk and turn test.
- Disability. For example, some people might be able to drive, but not able to bear all of their weight on one leg.
- Past injuries. Some people have horizontal gaze nystagmus all the time, often because of a past head injury or a stroke.
Unfortunately, Wisconsin is one of the states in which refusing to take a field sobriety test counts as probable cause. No matter if you are drunk or sober, field sobriety tests surely do not prove accurate 100 percent of the time. If you are charged with an OWI and you failed a field sobriety test, you must challenge your results with the aid of a lawyer.
Contact Wyosnick Legal, LLC to find out how we can fight your charges. Choosing the right lawyer could mean the difference between a conviction and a clean record.