field sobriety test
Curbside impairment check
A field sobriety test is a series of physical and cognitive tasks that police officers administer roadside to determine whether a driver is impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Standard tests include walking heel-to-toe in a straight line, standing on one leg, and following a moving object with the eyes.
Officers use performance on these tests to establish probable cause for arrest or to request a breathalyzer.
He failed the field sobriety test and was taken into custody.
Substance-induced mental impairment
- DUIImpaired operating charge
- DWIIntoxicated driving charge
- inebriationDrunken state
- blood alcohol contentEthanol concentration in bloodstream
BAC · impaired driving · drunk driving · slurred speech · staggering · alcohol · inebriate · buzzed
Neurological coordination assessment
- pupil dilationEye opening widening
- nystagmusUncontrolled repetitive eye movement
- standardized testingIdentical assessments across populations
- instructionsGuidance on how to proceed
demonstration · observation · scoring · clues · indicators · performance · compliance · refusal
Quality of being permitted
- probable causeLegal threshold for searches
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- cross-examinationOpposing party questions witness
arrest · charges · prosecution · defense · conviction · acquittal · court · lawyer
Adjacent to pavement
- patrol officerUniformed law enforcer
- pulled overOrdered to roadside
- traffic violationBreach of road laws
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
investigation · questioning · license and registration · flashlight · hazard lights · dispatch · backup · detained
intoxication
Substance-induced mental impairment
- DUIImpaired operating charge
- DWIIntoxicated driving charge
- inebriationDrunken state
blood alcohol content · BAC · impaired driving · drunk driving · slurred speech · staggering · alcohol · inebriate · buzzed · tipsy
finger-to-nose
Neurological coordination assessment
- pupil dilationEye opening widening
- nystagmusUncontrolled repetitive eye movement
- standardized testingIdentical assessments across populations
instructions · demonstration · observation · scoring · clues · indicators · performance · compliance · refusal
admissibility
Quality of being permitted
- probable causeLegal threshold for searches
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
cross-examination · arrest · charges · prosecution · defense · conviction · acquittal · court · lawyer · plea
roadside
Adjacent to pavement
- patrol officerUniformed law enforcer
- pulled overOrdered to roadside
- traffic violationBreach of road laws
suspicion · investigation · questioning · license and registration · flashlight · hazard lights · dispatch · backup · detained · reasonable suspicion
- policingpatrol, police powers, arrests, police officer, arrest
- DUIdrunk tank, implied consent, breathalyzer, BAC test, blood alcohol level
- DUI preventiondesignated driver, ignition interlock, breathalyzer, DUI checkpoint, DUI laws
- sobriety testsbreathalyzer, heel to toe, finger to nose, standardized tests
- arrestarrest, handcuffs, Miranda warning, booking, custody
- searchessearch, seek, hunt, quest, find
field sobriety testbreathalyzer
Alcohol detection device
blood test · chemical test · blood alcohol test · breath test · toxicology screen
field, fields, sobriety, battlefield, sobering, fielder, airfield, soberly, fielded