If you are pulled over for a Florida DUI, then you may be asked to take field sobriety tests. These are physical and cognitive tests meant to help a police officer determine if a person is sober. Because these tests have been said to be unfair and inaccurate, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) has come up with standardized field sobriety tests. The NHTSA standardized tests are:
- The stand-on-one-leg test
- The walk-and-turn test
- The horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test
These field sobriety tests are designed to gauge your balance and coordination, as well as your response time. However, there are also various non-standardized field sobriety tests, which an officer may also use. These non-standardized tests include:
- Standing with your feet together, and tipping your hear backwards
- Counting the fingers that an officer shows
- Reciting the alphabet
- Standing still and bringing your finger to your nose
These non-standardized field sobriety tests may be just as incriminating as the standardized tests approved by the NHTSA. Generally, your performance in these tests will be video recorded by a camera in the officer’s car. And these video recording will be allowed as evidence in court. If you have questions regarding field sobriety tests, or want to fight your Florida DUI charge, you can get the professional help of a Miami DUI defense attorney.
If you have been pulled over under the suspicion of a Florida DUI, you may want to know the implications of taking a field sobriety test. To learn more about Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs), please visit our article library.
Contacting a Florida DUI Defense Attorney
If you are facing DUI charges in South Florida, your legal team is your best defense. Contact the Miami DUI defense attorneys at Falk & Ross to discuss your case – (877) 663-5110.