What is a field sobriety test? Can it accurately determine how intoxicated a person is?
Field sobriety tests are among the ways an officer can attempt to collect evidence to use against you in determining whether you are impaired by alcohol consumption. They are essentially physical agility tests. With blood or breath testing, certain equipment is needed to perform a BAC test and police officers do not always have these readily available while they are out in the field. A field sobriety allows an officer to quickly assess whether or not a driver is impaired, and gives them probable cause to make an arrest for DUI and take a driver into custody where a blood or breath test will be performed. Field sobriety tests are not accurate ways of determining sobriety, but they can indicate impairment, helping the police officer determine whether an arrest needs to be made.
