Michael Kramer, Attorney at law

1311 Mamaroneck Ave
Suite 340
White Plains, NY 10605
mk@michaelkramerlaw.com

Call for a Free, 20-min,
Traffic Ticket Strategy Session

(914) 709-7161

Michael Kramer, Attorney at law

Interviewer: What is the test or what is the instruction that people miss all the time? What’s the one that nearly everyone gets wrong?

Anxiety Is a Factor in Inadvertently Not Following the Officer’s Instructions

Michael Kramer: Any particular instruction. It varies with the test. With regard to the walk and turn test, they’re supposed to turn with one foot on the line and the other moving around the line. Sometimes they forget that. Sometimes they begin the test too early: with regard to the one leg stand they’re supposed to stand for 30 seconds with their foot raised and look at the raised leg, and many times they look straight ahead. With the gaze Nystagmus, motorists often times follow the pen by turning their head.

They oftentimes raise the wrong hand to tough their finger because the officers saying right, left, right, left, left, right, left, right in very quick succession. Sometimes it’s something they mishear an officer say and they raise the wrong hand which again, everything they do that deviates in the slightest is going to be considered as a failure.

The Police May Administer a Breath Test Using the Alco Sensor Device, Which Detects the Presence of Alcohol in a Driver’s System

Interviewer: Do you have any last words of advice or anything else that you would want to share with us today?

Michael Kramer: The only subject we haven’t touched upon is the Alco sensor test, which is another test administered on the side of the road. The officer uses a hand-held portable device that detects whether there’s any alcohol in a motorist’s system. It’s used for the same purpose as the field sobriety test which is to determine where there’s probable cause to believe that this person is under the influence.

The Results of the Alco Sensor Test Are Not Admissible as Evidence

It is not admissible at trial because it’s not scientifically accurate. But it does detect the presence of alcohol, not the amount, but the presence. That is often employed again to back up the police officer’s decision to make an arrest for DWI.

Michael Kramer, Esq.

Call for a Free, 20-min,
Traffic Ticket Strategy Session
(914) 709-7161