Your California DUI Attorney wants you to be well informed. Here is a basic description of the standards for the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Program:

Psychophysical tests should require evaluation of the subject's appearance and condition, ability to follow instructions, as well as balance and coordination. These types of tests are called Divided Attention Tests. They require the subject to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. They divide the subject's attention between mental and physical tasks.

Studies have shown that a person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage may be able to perform one of these tasks but rarely both. If under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, people are likely to make certain predictable errors while attempting these tasks.

Since the mid 1970's, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with the cooperation and assistance of the law enforcement community, has conducted research that resulted in the development of a battery of three standardized field sobriety tests (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Walk and Turn and the One Leg Stand) to assist police officers in detecting impaired drivers. These tests, formerly referred to as Improved Sobriety Tests, are now the Standard that the Federal Government wants to be utilized and is in fact taught by the New Jersey State Police.

The program, which was previously termed the Improved Sobriety Testing, was validated in laboratory and field studies conducted by the Southern California Research Institute. These tests were initially developed by the Los Angeles Police Department Training in how to conduct the tests is included in the NHTSA course "DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing."

This material is for informational purposes only. If you want to know how the SFST tests affect you, please contact your DUI Attorney.

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