The Finger to Nose FST - Another "Made Up" DUI Field Sobriety Test
We recently explained that the Romberg balance DUI field sobriety test was not an FST at all, but rather a neurological test used by doctors to detect disorders. Well the same goes for the “finger to nose” DUI field sobriety test as well.
The “finger to nose” test is a neurological test, not an original FST. When performed in a doctor’s office, it is precisely administered and evaluated. When performed on the side of the road or in a police station, precision goes out the window.
Since it isn’t one of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “standardized” DUI field sobriety tests, there is no scientific data to support its use as a reliable FST. Officers are not only free to administer it as they wish, but are also free to evaluate a suspect’s performance as they wish.
Nerves, intimidation, and one’s personal coordination make this test…and, for that matter, pretty much all field sobriety tests…poor indicators of drug and/or alcohol impairment.
