Everyone knows about field sobriety tests. They are the things you see people doing on the side of the road all the time to determine if they are too drunk to drive. But is that what they really show? Pay attention to find out.

Field sobriety tests don’t actually test sobriety at all. That is why most Seattle DUI lawyers refer to them as roadside tests. They are tests conducted by the roadside, but they don’t tell you if you are too drunk to drive. Many people concede they don’t tell you anything at all.

Believe it or not, cops didn’t come up with roadside tests. The transportation folks did. They wanted to keep their roads safe and thought there had to be a way to find out if people were driving drunk without taking everyone in for a test. The only problem is these tests have never reached that threshold. If done perfectly, the tests can give you a probability that someone is too drunk to drive (BAC over .10). That probability is no where near 100%.

Notice that the tests were designed to show a BAC of .10? What do you think happened when the legal limit was lowered? You guessed it, they just magically determined road side tests would show a BAC of .08! And unlike most scientific assertions, roadside tests have never been peer reviewed. Shocking I know.

This is why, when you actually get to court, the cops aren’t allowed to get up there and say that you were driving under the influence because you failed the roadside tests. All they can show is a likelihood that you had consumed alcohol. And to even get there the cops have to show the tests were administered properly.

Now that we all know how inaccurate and misleading roadside tests are, what can we do about it? The first thing is, at least in Washington, to refuse to take them. Here they are completely voluntary, which means refusing to do them can’t be used against you for any reason. Since they can only hurt, why take them?

Want to find out more about Seattle DUI lawyers? Then visit us. We’ll show you how to choose the best Seattle DUI lawyer for your needs.

categories: field sobriety tests, drunk driving, DUI attorney, DUI lawyer, criminal lawyer