Texas FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS for
DWI
There are 3 "standardized" tests
that police officers give in order to
determine if they have probable
cause to arrest a person for DWI.
They also give other tests, but they
are not the "standardized" tests.
The three tests are
1) the HGN (Horizontal Gaze
Nystagmus test),
2) the Walk and Turn, and
3) the One Leg Stand.
1) HGN: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus.
This test is used to see if your eyes
jerk involuntarily when following an
object. The police are trained that if
a person's eyes do exhibit this jerk
(nystagmus), this is a sign of
intoxication. The test must be
administered properly to obtain an
valid result.
2) Walk and Turn: This test is
designed to evaluate the subjects
mental and physical faculties. You
are given a series of instructions,
and if you vary from the instructions,
police are trained to use these
deviations from the instructions as
evidence of intoxication. The
instructions you are given are to do
a physical task (basically, walk the
straight line, turn and walk back). It
sounds simple, but the instructions
are designed to make this a very
unnatural type of walk. If you are
unable to walk and turn in exactly
the way the officer asks you to walk
and turn, the officer is trained to see
this as evidence of intoxication.
3) One Leg Stand : This is a similar
test to the Walk and Turn, in that it
has a physical and mental portion.
They test your mental faculties by
once again, seeing if you can
follow their directions. They test
your physical faculties by observing
whether you can actually perform
the test. On the physical part of the
exam, they look for swaying, using
arms for balance, hopping, placing a
foot down before 30 seconds expire.
Unfortunately for the test subjects,
they are not told that they will be
graded off for these things.
DWI
There are 3 "standardized" tests
that police officers give in order to
determine if they have probable
cause to arrest a person for DWI.
They also give other tests, but they
are not the "standardized" tests.
The three tests are
1) the HGN (Horizontal Gaze
Nystagmus test),
2) the Walk and Turn, and
3) the One Leg Stand.
1) HGN: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus.
This test is used to see if your eyes
jerk involuntarily when following an
object. The police are trained that if
a person's eyes do exhibit this jerk
(nystagmus), this is a sign of
intoxication. The test must be
administered properly to obtain an
valid result.
2) Walk and Turn: This test is
designed to evaluate the subjects
mental and physical faculties. You
are given a series of instructions,
and if you vary from the instructions,
police are trained to use these
deviations from the instructions as
evidence of intoxication. The
instructions you are given are to do
a physical task (basically, walk the
straight line, turn and walk back). It
sounds simple, but the instructions
are designed to make this a very
unnatural type of walk. If you are
unable to walk and turn in exactly
the way the officer asks you to walk
and turn, the officer is trained to see
this as evidence of intoxication.
3) One Leg Stand : This is a similar
test to the Walk and Turn, in that it
has a physical and mental portion.
They test your mental faculties by
once again, seeing if you can
follow their directions. They test
your physical faculties by observing
whether you can actually perform
the test. On the physical part of the
exam, they look for swaying, using
arms for balance, hopping, placing a
foot down before 30 seconds expire.
Unfortunately for the test subjects,
they are not told that they will be
graded off for these things.
Law Office of Doug Goyen
15851 North Dallas Parkway #600
Dallas, Texas 75001
Local: (972) 599 4100
Fax: (972) 398 2629
Serving the Dallas Fort Worth. North Texas area
DWI / DUI Attorney / Lawyer - Serving the Dallas Fort Worth, North Texas area
15851 North Dallas Parkway #600
Dallas, Texas 75001
Local: (972) 599 4100
Fax: (972) 398 2629
Serving the Dallas Fort Worth. North Texas area
DWI / DUI Attorney / Lawyer - Serving the Dallas Fort Worth, North Texas area
CONTACT US BY PHONE OR EMAIL
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