Reader’s Question:

I heard that police officers in Anchorage, Alaska administer some kind of standardized and non-standardized field sobriety tests in a DWI arrest. Could you give me the kinds of standardized field sobriety tests and could you also please describe how they are being done?

Dana

Anchorage, AK

There are three standardized field sobriety tests (SFST’s) that police officers in Anchorage, Alaska often administer to a person suspected of DWI. Officers take note of how well the person performs these tests and responds to direction.

The horizontal gaze nystagmus is one type of SFST which is the involuntary jerking of a person’s eyeball. If the DWI suspect is under the influence of alcohol, it is often believed that he/she will have a difficult time following an object with his/her eyes. In this test, the officer would ask the person to follow the tip of a pen or a finger while he/she moves the object back and forth. Another SFST is the walk and turn test in which the person will be instructed to take 9 heel-to-toe steps, stop, turn, and then take 9 more heel-to-toe steps in the opposite direction. The other SFST is the one-leg stand in which the person will be instructed stand on one foot while raising the other foot approximately 6 inches off of the ground and he will also be asked to count out aloud until instructed to stop.

Tags: DWI, DWI arrest, DWI lawyer, field sobriety tests