What Are Preliminary Breath Tests And Divided Attention Testing?
You are not required under Kentucky law to submit to preliminary breath testing or divided attention testing. The refusals to submit to such testing are not admissible in any trial. A preliminary breath test is usually conducted at the scene of the stop. A small, handheld device is usually offered to the accused. Divided attention testing is also called field sobriety tests by law enforcement. Such exercises are not tests and in no way measure sobriety. Generally, law enforcement will ask you to hold one foot in the air with your arms pinned to your sides while counting to 30 by thousands (one, one thousand, two, one thousand, etc.). Another popular police manufactured exercise is the walkandturn, which requires the accused to walk nine steps heeltotoe forward, turn, and walk nine steps heeltotoe back all the while with arms pinned to sides. A third socalled test is the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) wherein the officer will wave his finger or some other object before an accus
