Field sobriety test question

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  • Rookie

    Grandmaster
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    Sep 22, 2008
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    Watching live pd...

    The guy had to hold his foot up and count. I know I couldn't maintain my balance and I haven't had a drink in ages. Is it just maintaining balance, or is it being able to follow all the details that the officer is telling him to do?
     

    Denny347

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    It's a divided attention test. Balance is only part of it. Being able to count while maintaining balance and follow directions given.
     

    SmileDocHill

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    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!"
     

    Denny347

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    For SFST's to be valid, these instructions need to be followed and the tests given in this same order.

    Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Instructions (HGN)
    1. I am going to check your eyes. (Please remove your glasses)
    2. Keep your head still and follow the stimulus with your eyes only. 3. Do not move your head. 4. Do you understand the instructions?


    Walk and Turn Instructions (WAT)
    1. Put your left foot on the line and put your right foot in front of it with your right heel touching
    your left toe. Keep your hands at your side. (Demonstrate)
    2. Do not start until I tell you to. 3. Do you understand the directions?
    4. When I tell you to begin, take nine heel to toe steps on the line, turn around keeping one foot
    on the line, and return nine heel to toe steps. (Demonstrate heel-to-toe; three steps is
    sufficient)
    5. On the ninth step, keep the front foot on the line and turn by taking several small steps with
    the other foot. (Demonstrate turn)
    6. While walking, watch your feet at all times, keep arms at side, count steps out loud. Once you
    begin, do not stop until test is completed. 7. Do you understand the instructions?
    8. You may begin the test.

    One-leg Stand Instructions (OLS)
    1. Stand with your heels together and your arms at your side. (Demonstrate)
    2. Do not begin until I tell you to. 3. Do you understand?
    4. When I tell you, I want you to raise one leg, either leg, approximately six inches off the
    ground, foot pointed out. Keep both legs straight and keep your eyes on the elevated foot. 5. While holding that position, count out loud; one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one
    thousand and three, and so forth until told to stop. (Demonstrate raised leg and count)
    6. Do you understand the instructions?
    7. You may begin the test.


    Standardized FST Clues


    Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN);
    Six clues, three for each eye. There are no specific
    clues for vertical nystagmus.
    Clues:
    1. Lack of smooth pursuit
    2. Distinct nystagmus and maximum deviation
    3. Angle of onset prior to 45 degrees



    Walk and Turn (WAT); (8 total clues, 2 in instruction phase, 6 in walking phase). Clues:
    Instruction phase:
    1. Cannot keep balance
    2. Starts to soon
    Walking Phase:
    3. Stops while walking
    4. Misses heel to toe
    5. Steps off line
    6. Uses arms to balance
    7. Improper turn
    8. Wrong number of steps


    One leg stand (OLS); (Four clues).
    1. Swaying
    2. Uses arms to balance
    3. Hopping
    4. Puts foot down
     

    CPT Nervous

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    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.
     

    Wolfhound

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    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.
     

    VUPDblue

    Silencers Have NEVER Been Illegal !
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    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”. :)
     

    CPT Nervous

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    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.


    If you have bad knees, or other medical conditions, the officer will factor that in. Usually, at least how I always did it, I would offer a PBT (portable breath test) at the scene, after SFST. It's not a certified chemical test, it's just a way to judge where you're at. If you blow a 0.00, and the officer suspects you're impaired on drugs, then a DRE gets involved. If you didn't do too bad on the SFST, passed the HGN part, and blow a 0 on PBT, you would probably be let go.
     

    Denny347

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    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”. :)
    Yeah, I found this and thought it was close enough for examples. I cut and pasted these.
     

    Hop

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    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.
     

    Ziggidy

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    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.
     

    CPT Nervous

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    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.

    Then I get a warrant for a blood draw, and I get your blood. I don't need you to do SFST to prove impairment.

    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.

    The city/state/county will cover it.
     

    amboy49

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    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.
     

    CPT Nervous

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    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.

    Like I said, that's taken into consideration. The HGN test is a good one for everyone, because no matter how good you are at being a drunk, your eyes give it away.

    I had a guy with a B.A.C. of 1.6 walking and talking like a normal guy. Only giveaway was the smell on his breath, and very slightly delayed and slurred speech. But otherwise, you could hardly tell!

    If you can pass HGN, don't smell like booze, and show no other signs of impairment, I think most cops would let you go.
     
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