When the police suspect that a driver is drunk, they have several investigative techniques available to them. Of course, the initial technique employed during a traffic stop is mere observation – the officer observes the driver’s speech, appearance, smell, and other characteristics that may indicate that he or she is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If these initial observations lead a police officer to believe that the driver may be drunk, he or she will typically request that the driver perform a field sobriety test in order to “test” whether the driver is, in fact, over the legal limit.
The Field Sobriety Test is an Evidence-Gathering Tool
As a driver, it is important to understand that when the police ask you to perform field sobriety testing, they have likely already made the determination that you drunk and plan to arrest you. The “test” is less about deciding whether you are drunk and more about gathering stronger evidence that
