The field superiority tests are among the methods that were used by the police service to determine a driver’s level of impairment. Ideally, Field Superiority Tests are grouped into three categories namely: horizontal gaze nystagmus test, walk-turn test, and the one-leg stand test. The triple-divided tests are designed to test and asses a driver’s ability to divide their attention to a range of tasks such as driving and looking outside at the same time. Additionally, the triple-divided tests are used to test the drivers’ coordination and balance while driving. It is worth noting that the tests in question have been globally and scientifically proven and accepted as a legal measure of validation of intoxication levels of suspected drunk driving. However, for the results of the tests to be accurate and legal, they have to be conducted by trained and experienced officers, especially those from the traffic department. Personally, following my interaction with the tests and learning of their application, I have found interest in carrying out mock trials with the aim of testing their accuracy and relationship with testing drunk driving.

Horizontal gaze nystagmus was the first FST I conducted with a random driver who accepted to do it with me upon request. In the test, I did my best in following all the necessary steps which begin with jerking of the eye, an act that is evident to every individual especially when the eye is rotated speedily and at peripheral angles. The proof of a drunk driver in this test is depicted when their eyeballs’ jerking becomes seemingly exaggerated and evident in fewer angles. Also, following the other tests’ procedure, I requested the driver to follow a pen with his eyes at a close distance. This procedure helped me in determining the driver’s eye accuracy, especially when it came to jerking. However, I can conclude that for all the drivers I conducted the test on, the response was negative as they were not drunk, therefore, never subjected to a blood-alcohol content test (Stuster,2006).

The second FST I conducted was the walk- turn test. Ideally, I considered this to be the easiest and most reliable one, especially among drunk drivers who have quite a high percentage of alcoholic content in their bloodstreams. As such, I asked the drivers to walk on a straight line for at least nine steps. This walk was strictly heel-to-toe before turning on a single foot and later nine steps on the other side (Bosker et al., 2012). As stipulated in the test, I was carefully watching if the drivers began walking before instructing them, did not walk heel-to-toe, used their arms as balance supporters, took either less or more steps, lost balance while turning, stopped during the nine-step walk to regain balance, and if they kept balance while I gave instructions. Ideally, if two or more of the above stipulated tests failed, the suspect is eligible for a blood-alcohol content test.

The third and last FST was the one-leg stand test. Considered to be comfortable too, I asked the drivers to stand with one leg approximately six inches high and count numbers from the back starting from one thousand and one. While conducting the test, I was keen to observe key indicators of potential drunkenness. These indicators include the drivers’ swaying or shaking while balancing, losing balance and using their arms for support. As recommended in the tests, the observation of two or more signs of potential drunkenness required that the driver is subjected blood-alcohol content test to figure out their drunk-driving state.

In summation, I can confirm that the FSTs I performed were successful; hence, proofing that my knowledge on the latter is quite impressive Adding on, the knowledge and experience gathered during the administration of the FSTs would help me build a foolproof case accusing and prosecuting the drivers for drunken driving (Stuster 2006)

Though so, using the FSTs in convicting a suspected drunk driver might also be challenging due to various reasons. For instance, the victim can deny evidence used against him since they might not be drunk when presented in the court Additionally, individuals who suffer from various health problems such as epilepsy might fall victims of false accusation of drunk driving as a result of failing some of the tests while they might not be drunk in the real sense. As such, it can be concluded that, despite such challenges, FSTs remain an essential measure as much as curbing drunk drivers is concerned.

References

Bosker, W. M., Theunissen, E. L., Conen, S., Kuypers, K. P. C., Jeffery, W. K., Walls, H. C., … &Ramaekers, J. G. (2012). A placebo-controlled study to assess Standardized Field Sobriety Tests performance during alcohol and cannabis intoxication in heavy cannabis users and accuracy of point of collection testing devices for detecting THC in oral fluid. Psychopharmacology, 223(4), 439-446.

Stuster, J. (2006). Validation of the standardized field sobriety test battery at 0.08% blood alcohol concentration. Human factors, 48(3), 608-614.

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