Gwinnett County Field Sobriety Tests

If you Drive around GA-20 or Peachtree Industrial on any given night, and you will see Gwinnett County Police Officers administering field sobriety tests to drivers they have pulled over and suspect of DUI.  Drivers will often be asked a series of questions by the officer, or to do things like state their ABCs, but there are 3 validated field sobriety tests that the Gwinnett County DUI officers are trained to administer to those they think might be driving under the influence. 

The validated field sobriety tests are: the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), the walk and turn, and the one leg stand.  The HGN is a series of three different tests which require an officer to instruct the driver to look at a stimulus.  The officer then determines if the drivers eyes display involuntary jerking.  Such jerking of the eyes can be evidence of alcohol consumption.  HGN is considered the most reliable of the field sobriety tests.

The walk and turn requires the driver to take nine heal to toe steps along a real or imaginary line, make a tight turn, and then take nine such steps back.

The one leg stand requires the driver to follow the officers instructions and then stand on one foot for 30 seconds.  The officer looks for certain signs that the driver is under the influence and cannot do this adequaltely.  

For each test, if the the officer determines that the driver makes a certain number of mistakes or exhibits "clues," they can arrest for DUI.  

Officers often administer these tests improperly.  A skilled DUI lawyer can watch the police video or read the report and notice errors that a Gwinnett County officer may have made.  In addition, attorney Richard Lawson compelted training as an instructor in these field sobriety tests, so he know how they should be conducted.  Call Mr. Lawson today if you are facing a Gwinnett County DUI charge and would like a free case consultation.