Field Sobriety Testing Research Paper
Field Sobriety Testing
Ashley Cusson
CRJ311: Forensics
Professor: R.D. Robertson
October 6, 2014
Field sobiety testing is done when the driver is drinking and driving. The thing that people do not realize is that there are many crashes each year that a life is lost in yes not all of them are alcohol related but a good portion of them are. according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 32,885 people died in traffic crashes in 2010 in the United States, including an estimated 10,228 people who died in drunk driving crashes, accounting for thirty-one percent of all traffic deaths” (Century Council, 2013). Police are trained to spot suspected intoxicated drivers. They do know that just because they suspect …show more content…
As our text tells us there are three tests normally used as part of the standardized field sobriety tests (SFST) they are “the walk and turn test, the one leg stand test, and the finger to nose test” (Gaensslen and Larsen 2013). Before the officer can start the test the “suspect decided that she needs to tie her shoe, you can see in the video the woman bending over wobbling trying to retie her shoe laces at which time she losses her balance and just falls over. People that are intoxicated find it hard to maintain their balance. The officer helps the woman back to her feet and begins the walk and turn test. The officer explains the test that he would like the woman to do and even illustrates the exercise to her. For the test she must keep her arms to her side, take nine heel-to-toe steps turn around and repeat the steps back. You can see the woman from behind and she is very unsteady. The woman is unable to remain standing straight as she is walking. When she makes the turn she is very unsteady and stumbles a bit. When she is attempting to return to her starting point she is seems to have even more trouble staying on track and even seems to stumble towards the end on what seems to be her own feet. At this time the officer is pretty sure that the suspect is drunk and takes her in to
Ashley Cusson
CRJ311: Forensics
Professor: R.D. Robertson
October 6, 2014
Field sobiety testing is done when the driver is drinking and driving. The thing that people do not realize is that there are many crashes each year that a life is lost in yes not all of them are alcohol related but a good portion of them are. according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 32,885 people died in traffic crashes in 2010 in the United States, including an estimated 10,228 people who died in drunk driving crashes, accounting for thirty-one percent of all traffic deaths” (Century Council, 2013). Police are trained to spot suspected intoxicated drivers. They do know that just because they suspect …show more content…
As our text tells us there are three tests normally used as part of the standardized field sobriety tests (SFST) they are “the walk and turn test, the one leg stand test, and the finger to nose test” (Gaensslen and Larsen 2013). Before the officer can start the test the “suspect decided that she needs to tie her shoe, you can see in the video the woman bending over wobbling trying to retie her shoe laces at which time she losses her balance and just falls over. People that are intoxicated find it hard to maintain their balance. The officer helps the woman back to her feet and begins the walk and turn test. The officer explains the test that he would like the woman to do and even illustrates the exercise to her. For the test she must keep her arms to her side, take nine heel-to-toe steps turn around and repeat the steps back. You can see the woman from behind and she is very unsteady. The woman is unable to remain standing straight as she is walking. When she makes the turn she is very unsteady and stumbles a bit. When she is attempting to return to her starting point she is seems to have even more trouble staying on track and even seems to stumble towards the end on what seems to be her own feet. At this time the officer is pretty sure that the suspect is drunk and takes her in to