If you have been arrested in Texas for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you will almost certainly be asked to submit to field sobriety tests (FSTs). While these tests are often played for laughs in movies, these tests should be taken very seriously because they may determine whether you are arrested for DUI.  Two of the three standardized FSTs – the walk and turn and one leg stand – are referred to as “divided attention tests.”  The tests require you to divide your attention between a physical task and a mental task.  The police officer will observe your concentration, physical coordination and balance.

When a Texas motorist is pulled over for DUI, the driver will usually be asked to perform these tasks prior to submitting to a roadside portable breath test.  Texas DUI defense attorney Alex Tyra has provided an overview of necessary facts about FSTs that every motorist should be armed with when stopped for DUI.  Part I of this two-part blog post provides an overview of the types of FSTs that a DUI suspect may be asked to perform while Part II focuses on the basis for challenging the probative value of FSTS in a Texas DUI case.

While many people presume that FSTs are based on careful scientific research regarding tasks that intoxicated drivers cannot perform, this is simply not the case.  Initially, it is important to understand that there are two types of FSTs: (1) Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFTs) and (2) Non-Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.  This distinction is important because only SFTs have been determined to have any more reliability than flipping a coin.  Non-standardized field sobriety tests include counting the fingers the officer is extending, counting backwards, leaning backwards with your feet together, closing your eyes and alternately touching a finger on each hand to your nose and reciting the alphabet.

While standardized field sobriety test are more accurate, they are still far from compelling evidence when effectively challenged by an experienced Texas DUI attorney.  The SFSTs include the following:

• Walk and Turn: This SFT requires a motorist suspected of intoxicated driving to take nine heel to toe steps in a straight line then turn on one foot and return to the starting spot in the same manner.  This is one of the two divided attention tasks.  The officer will evaluate both your ability to follow the officer’s directions (the mental task) as well as your coordination in executing the physical task.

• One Leg Stand: The police officer will ask you to stand on one leg and hold one leg six inches off the ground while counting.  If you are unable to maintain your balance, sway two inches or more, extend your arms for balance, drop the suspended foot before thirty seconds have elapsed or hop, this will be considered a possible indication that you are impaired.  This also is a divided attention test because you must focus both on maintaining your balance and keeping your foot suspended while your mind is diverting to the task of counting.

• Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus: This test involves measuring the involuntary jerking motion of the eye that normally occurs when peripheral vision is employed.  While the jerking motion is natural, it becomes accentuated when someone is impaired by alcohol.  The officer looks for smoothness in following an object (usually a penlight flashlight) with the eye, eye jerking within 45 degrees of center and distinct jerking movement when the eye is at the extreme periphery.

We invite you to review Part II of this two-part blog post, addressing the various strategies that may be employed when attacking field sobriety test results.  Texas DUI attorney Alex Tyra offers a free consultation during which he can advise you about your legal rights and potential strategies for avoiding a DUI conviction.  We invite you to contact us in our Longview office at 903-753-7499 or visit our website and submit a case