...And with the One Leg Stand DUI Field Sobriety Test as Well
Just consider this a follow-up to yesterday’s blog “The Problems with the So-Called ‘Reliable’ DUI Walk-and-Turn Field Sobriety Test” as we turn to the even less reliable one leg stand.
Just like the walk-and-turn FST, the one leg stand DUI field sobriety test has its fair share of problems. In fact, they are the same problems as the walk-and-turn presents: (1) the accuracy rate (or should we say “inaccuracy” rate), and (2) it is an unfair test for a large percentage of the population. Let’s address these in order.
First, if precisely administered and evaluated according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s standards (which is rarely if ever the case), the one leg stand FST only has a 65% accuracy rate at determining alcohol and/or drug impairment.This means that at best, one out of every three people is falsely arrested for DUI based on this field sobriety test.
Second, people over 50, people who are overweight, those with physical injuries, and those wearing shoes with any type of heels will be unfairly disadvantaged by this “balance” test…a fact which is typically ignored by arresting officers who are committed to meeting their DUI quotas.
