Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs)

The standardized field sobriety test is a series of physical exercises an officer will ask you to perform when you’ve been stopped on suspicion of drunk or impaired driving. These tests are designed to determine a person’s “balance, coordination, and the ability of the driver to divide his or her attention among several tasks at once.” (More information can be found at the NHTSA website). The exercises can include:

• – Following a pen or other small object with your eyes: The officer is looking for jerky eye movement
• – Standing on one leg for a certain length of time: The officer is looking for inability to balance without lifting arms, swaying, or putting the lifted foot down
• – Walking a straight line heel-to-toe and then turning: The officer is looking for an inability to follow instructions, maintain balance, walk a straight line, keep feet together, and stop and start when instructed.

This test isn’t like those given in school. You aren’t told ahead of time what the testing criteria will be, you aren’t allowed to study or practice, you may not even be aware that the test has already begun or ended, and you’re not told what a “passing” grade is—or even if you have passed or failed once the test has ended. In addition to the tests’ specific indicators, the officer will be looking for other signs of impairment due to drugs or alcohol, such as:

• – slurred speech,
• – clothing type and state (such as party clothes or rumpled or spilled on clothing),
• – bloodshot eyes,
• – scent-masking materials such as air fresheners or a lot of perfume,
• – attitude,
• – test refusal
• – or other incriminating statements during the tests, to name a few.