Why Even Call it a Test?
Typically when you take a test, you at least have the opportunity to pass. DUI field sobriety “tests”, however, automatically set you up for failure.
Take, for example, the finger count DUI field sobriety test. This “test” supposedly tells a cop whether you’re too drunk to drive. While you’re engaged in this FST, the officer is evaluating everything you’re doing…everything you’re doing wrong, that is.
He’s not taking note of the fact that you’re actually doing things right. He’s been trained only to observe the bad…this is how he gathers evidence to prove that you were driving under the influence. And forget the fact that illness, fatigue, nerves, or countless other innocent factors could cause anything other than a stellar performance.
Let’s just call these field sobriety tests what they really are – “exercises to give officers more ammunition against you”. Doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily as the “finger count DUI field sobriety test” but it’s certainly a lot more accurate.
