Field Sobriety Test Inaccuracy

Whenever a police officer makes pulls over a driver under suspicion of driving while intoxicated, the most common means of investigating the situation is asking the driver to perform field sobriety tests. Despite their ubiquitous use, these tests are not nearly as accurate or useful as law enforcement would have you believe.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has only standardized three of these tests for accurate use, and even using these three tests are only estimated to be 70% accurate. This means there is a greater than one in four chance that a field sobriety test can incorrectly identify you as intoxicated.

Reasons for Test Failures

Field sobriety tests rely on a standard that is established by the NHSTA, and this is the very failing which makes them so fallible. No two people are identical in their physical abilities, and various circumstances can negatively impact a persons ability to complete a test, such as:

• Illness
• Conditions which impair equilibrium
• Speech and language impediments
• Physical handicaps

If you believe that you will be unjustly identified as intoxicated by a field sobriety test, it is important to recognize that you are not required to submit to the test. According to an Arizona DUI lawyer, such refusal is not an admission of guilt, but will likely result in your arrest as the officer will be unable to continue his investigation.