Field sobriety test inaccuracy rates

Most people in Carolina have heard or read news reports about drivers being stopped and arrested for suspected drunk driving. These reports often paint a picture that does not reflect positively on the defendants and that plays on stereotypes that drunk drivers are all very irresponsible people. That is not the truth at all. It is easier than many people would think to be facing driving while impaired charges and many very responsible people are accused of drunk driving offenses.

It is important to understand that a drunk driving arrest happens after law enforcement officers have administered different tests. One of these tests may be a blood test or a breath test to measure a person’s blood alcohol level. Other tests often used even earlier in the process are called field sobriety tests. There are three such tests and none of them are completely accurate.

According to FieldSobrietyTests.org, the most accurate of the three tests is the one that tracks the nystagmus, an involuntary motion of the eyeball. This test is 77% accurate. The test that requires a person to walk along a line and back, called the walk-and-turn test, has an accuracy rate of 68%. The least accurate of all three tests is the one that requires a person to balance perfectly on one leg. This test’s accuracy rate is only 65%.

If you would like to learn more about how you may protect yourself and defend yourself against drunk driving charges, please feel free to visit the field sobriety test inaccuracies page of our North Carolina drunk driving and criminal defense website.