Do Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Truly Determine If Someone Is Impaired?

There are all kinds of statistics regarding the probability of being able to determine a person’s impairment from Field Sobriety Tests (FST). The National Transportation Safety Administration has suggested standard field sobriety tests which should be employed by most police in their respective jurisdictions.

The test results give police officers the legal authority to request that a motorist then take a more form breath test back at the police station. The purpose of standardized field sobriety tests are to determine whether there is some degree of impairment which together with other factors may give the police probable cause to make an arrest.

Can Personal Health Issues Impact A Standard Field Sobriety Test?

Any health or balance issue might have a bearing on a person’s ability to perform standardized field sobriety tests. If such a person were to be requested to take a field sobriety test, the best advice is that they should express to the police officer what health issue they are most concerned about and how they believe it would adversely affect the test. If the officer still insisted that they perform the test, then a motorist should proceed to follow those instructions perform the test to the best of your ability and the reliability of such a test would be litigated at a later time when the case gets to court.

Can Any Factors Make A Driver Exempt From Having To Take These Tests?

If a police officer was intent on employing these tests, there are no factors which would exempt a driver other than total incapacity due to a physical impairment or if a motorist were so intoxicated, he/she could not perform any tests.

Are Field Sobriety Tests Admissible In Court In New York?

Yes, they are admissible. Police officers would be able to testify to tests they chose to employ and to the results obtained. I am often asked whether a motorist should refuse to take a field sobriety test. In that case, a police officer would have to make the judgment whether to make the arrest anyway and would certainly take that refusal into consideration and as a factor against you.

How Much Training Do Officers Have For Conducting These Tests Including The Portable Breath Test?

Police Officers in general do not receive must specialized training. They attend a police academy which has a basic 10 to 12 week course in which officers spend a minimum amount of time on DWI investigations. They are certainly not then specialists in this area. The main training an officer receives is on the job after a number of years and after they have made a number of DWI arrests. Then they obtain a level of on the job training which of course they would testify to, once the case got to court.

Does The Officer’s Testimony Carry Weight In Cases Involving Standardized Field Sobriety Tests And The Breathalyzer?

An officer’s credibility on any issue would and should be considered by the trier of fact in a DWI case. An officer would have to testify in clear and logical form exactly what occurred, why he chose to request certain tests, the instructions he gave as to how these tests should be performed as well as the other observations he has made. If the officer is confused as to times, dates, instructions given, where the tests were conducted, what occurred during that time, then certainly a jury or judge would lose confidence in that officer’s testimony which would benefit a motorist on trial.

If there is no breath tests, but only a refusal by a motorist, then the officer’s credibility would be most important as the only evidence before a court or a jury would be the subjective evaluation and observations of the police officer.

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