Do you know someone who has been arrested for and charged with drunk driving in Tennessee? If so, you may want to help that person learn about the different elements of the drunk driving arrest process as he or she assesses the options for a viable defense to the charges faced. As explained by FieldSobrietyTests.org, there are generally three tests that law enforcement officers may administer at the site of a stop before deciding to place a driver under arrest.
All three of the field sobriety tests are authorized for use by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, they are not completely foolproof. One of the tests called the one-leg stand test, for example, is said to have an accuracy rate of only 65 percent. Many things apart from the presence of alcohol may prevent a person from successfully being able to complete the tasks required by this test. These may include medical conditions, a person’s weight and even the type of shoes that a person is wearing at the time.
The test not only requires that you balance on one foot but that you do so with a fixed gaze on your raised foot, keep your hands and arms securely along the sides of your body, and count out loud in a specific manner until you are told to stop.
If you would like to learn more about the types and reliability of field sobriety tests, please feel free to visit the impaired operation charges page of our Tennessee drunk driving criminal defense website.