Information About DUI Field Sobriety Tests

It is no secret that the number of DUI accidents all over the nation is constantly growing. In these conditions, it is only natural that the law enforcement officers are inclined to make their best in order to comprehend any and all potential DUI offenders. New DUI checkpoints are being placed on roads every month. Hence, if a law enforcement officer had probable cause, he or she can pull you over for inspection. If a police officer is going to have reasons to believe that you were driving under the influence of alcohol, he or she will conduct a certain field sobriety test, which will determined whether or not you were committing a Sacramento DUI offense. There is a number of field tests that law enforcement officers are able to conduct and here are some of the most common:

• Horizontal gaze nystagmus. Nystagmus is when you are involuntarily jerking your eyeballs. This is more obvious when a person is intoxicated. The law enforcement officer will need you to follow a small object (such as a penlight) with your eyes while keeping your head straight. The officer is going to move the object back and forth and will be observing the reaction of your eyeballs in order to find three cues in each eye. Should the officer identify four out of six cues, you are going to be arrested and charged with a DUI.
• One leg stand. This is fairly straightforward. The law enforcement officer is going to tell you to stand up straight, with your arms by your sides. You will then need to raise your foot about six inches above the ground and point your toe out. You will then be instructed to count by the thousand and the law enforcement officer is going to watch you, looking for two of four intoxication cues.
• The walk-and-turn test. The law enforcement officer is going to tell you to stand on the line drawn on the ground. You will have to stand in a heel-to-toe position. You will then be instructed to take nine heel-to-toe steps, without losing your balance. Once you made these steps you will have to turn and make nine more steps and the law enforcement officer is going to be looking for four of eight cues indicating intoxication.
• There are also some non-standard sobriety tests that some law enforcement officers are going to use in order to determine if you are drunk. For instance, the police officer may ask you to count to 100, tell him how many fingers he is showing, recite a part or the entire alphabet, close your eyes and touch your nose with your fingers and so on.
• There is also a BAC breathalyzer test. Now. This test offers most definitive results, although even this test is not completely reliable. However, you must give your consent to submit yourself to the test. However, you should know that your refusal to submit yourself to this test is going to result in court issuing a separate summon on the matter of your refusal. Simply put, should you refuse to submit yourself to the test, you risk being charged with DUI automatically and will have to deal with the matter in court one way or the other. There is also one more detail – the officer will have to watch you for 20 minutes prior to giving you the test in order to make sure that your breath is not contaminated with any foreign objects.

Sacramento DUI Attorney, www.sacramentoduilawyernow.org