Police officers typically cannot justify serious criminal charges based on unfounded allegations. They need to gather evidence that shows that an individual broke certain laws. In cases involving allegations of impaired driving, officers can use video footage of poor driving, calls reporting seemingly impaired drivers and collisions as proof of possible impairment.
Testing is an important element of the enforcement of drunk driving statutes. Law enforcement professionals who suspect people of chemical impairment while driving often administer tests as a way of confirming those suspicions and establishing the necessary groans to arrest a motorist. During a traffic stop or after a crash, drivers can expect officers to attempt to administer two different types of testing.
Police officers may ask drivers to submit to chemical tests to evaluate their blood alcohol concentration (BAC). They may also ask them to undergo field sobriety testing. Drivers need to know about their rights when police officers want them to submit to field sobriety tests.
Testing must adhere to specific standards
For a field sobriety test to produce usable evidence, police officers have to follow specific rules. Generally speaking, they need to administer the test in a location where they can capture video footage. They also need to administer the three standardized field sobriety tests, not some clever tests they came up with on their own. In scenarios where officers don’t follow best practices, the people arrested for drunk driving may be able to challenge the use of field sobriety tests during a criminal trial.
Field sobriety testing isn’t mandatory
Quite a few people think that they have to comply with every request made by a police officer during a traffic stop. They may unintentionally put themselves at a legal disadvantage. While the law does require submission to chemical testing after an arrest, those rules do not apply to field sobriety test requests. Drivers can decline field sobriety tests without putting themselves at risk of arrest or making themselves vulnerable to more serious penalties.
Understanding the rules that apply in a drunk driving traffic stop scenario can help people avoid mistakes that will increase their chances of an impaired driving conviction. Field sobriety tests are often a tool for the police to gather evidence rather than chance for a driver to prove their innocence.