It's a divided attention test. Balance is only part of it. Being able to count while maintaining balance and follow directions given.
Clues we are looking forSo, assuming someone could follow directions, losing balance isn't an automatic failure?
So, assuming someone could follow directions, losing balance isn't an automatic failure?
What happens if you fail? Breathalyzer test? If you haven't been drinking that should clear you regardless right?
You are given the option of taking a chemical test. If you refuse the test, then you can be charged with OWI - Refusal. Here, we almost always do blood draws for the chemical test. If you refuse the blood draw, we get a warrant, and then we get your blood. You don't have to be drunk to be impaired.
If you are suspected of being under the influence of drugs, then we go to another series of tests, similar to SFST's, but more involved. These are conducted by a certified Drug Recognition Expert, or DRE. Same process applies, you can submit to a chemical test, or we can get a warrant.
Thanks for answering my question. I think some of us worry about failing the initial test due to being old with bad knees etc. It would be a hassle to have a blood draw (I assume this would be at a hospital or clinic) but if you have nothing to hide it's simply an inconvenience.
Yeah, I found this and thought it was close enough for examples. I cut and pasted these.I hate to “Denny” Denny, but your OLS instructions are very slightly off. The instruction is now “make the bottom of your raised foot parallel to the ground”, it is no longer “foot pointed out”.
Some of those sobriety tests are rather difficult for an old guy like me with bouts of vertigo and balance that is NOTHING like it used to be. Officer asked me to do a combination of things once, I said "I can't even do that sober!"
What if someone does this:
I am not your circus pony & don't do tricks. Person then decides to take Kirk's advise and not say anything.
If the process takes its course and you did not do well with the initial test and you proceed to a blood draw, who pays for that procedure and testing? I don't do drugs or drink but my physical abilities are not what they used to be. I would gladly take any chemical test, but if I am innocent, I would hope I would not be the one who has to pay to prove my innocence.
I am fast approaching my seventh decade on this earth. I have peripheral neuropathy. I couldn’t pass the “stand on one leg” test if my life depended on it. I’m also not sure I can complete the “walk a line heel to toe” test either !
I once heard, perhaps an urban legend, that those of us over 60 can’t be reliably expected to pass either of those tests. The “keep your head still and follow with your eyes only” I could probably do. Seems to me there are some test that aren’t very telling in their based on on certain conditions.