Drinking and Driving Investigation:

Once the police officer has made contact with a driver, the police officer may then start investigating the possibility the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Generally, the first clues an officer looks for is the odor of alcohol, red and/or watery eyes, slurred speech, thick tongue, and flushed face. The officer will also be observing the drivers motor skills while the driver is retrieving his / her driver’s license, proof of insurance, and registration. An officer may then ask the driver if they have been drinking. The most common answers drivers will provide if they have been drinking is “2 beers / drinks,” or “a couple”, or “a few”. A person is not required to answer incriminating questions and Defense Attorneys would prefer that their clients not answer these types of questions by politely declining to answer. Once an officer suspects the driver has been drinking or is under the influence of drugs, the officer is likely to request the driver to perform standard field sobriety tests (In many jurisdictions, including Colorado Springs, a DUI enforcement officer may be requested).

Standard Field Sobriety Tests: The Standard Field Sobriety tests are a series of mental and physical tests that determine the driver’s ability to follow instructions, maintain balance and coordination. Basically, these tests require the suspected DUI driver to concentrate on more than one thing at the same time.

Field sobriety tests In Colorado are voluntary (this does not include blood or breath tests, Colorado requires a driver to complete a blood or breath test when a cop has probable cause to believe the driver has been drinking). Often a driver will decide to perform the tests in the hopes that if they do “OK” the cop will let them go. However, it is more likely the police officer is attempting to gather evidence for probable cause to request a chemical test (blood or breath test) and to build a stronger criminal case.

The Sixth Amendment right from the United States Constitution does not raise the right to have an attorney called out to the scene or the place of the stop. This basically means that the driver does not have opportunity to have legal advice regarding the field sobriety tests. The best advice is to politely decline the field sobriety tests including any hand held breath testing devices (portable breath test). An officer can still require a blood test or a breath test from a scientifically reliable breathalyzer.

The standard field sobriety tests recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are:

• Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN):
In this test the police officer has the suspected DUI driver stand still. The officer will then take an object (pen, penlight, flashlight, finger, etc.) and hold it out in front of the driver’s eyes. The officer will ask the driver to follow the object with their eyes without moving their head. The police office is looking for 3 clues; lack of smooth pursuit, distinct jerkiness at maximum deviation, and angle of onset.

• Walk & Turn
In the walk and turn test the officer is observing the DUI suspect’s ability to listen to instructions and follow those instructions while demonstrating balance and coordination.
The driver is given a set of instructions that require him / her to stand still until told to start, then using a real or imaginary line, walk nine steps forward touching heel to toe, turn around, walk nine steps back heel to toe.

The officer is specifically looking to see if the suspected DUI driver can keep balance while listening to instructions, starts the test too soon, stops in the middle of the test, does not touch the heel to toe, walks a straight line, raises arms for balance, looses balance while turning, or steps off the line.

• One Leg Stand (balancing test)
In the balancing test the DUI suspect is instructed to stand still, raise one foot approximately 6 inches of the ground and count to 30 or 30 seconds.
The officer is looking to see if the DUI suspect sways while balancing, uses arms for balance, puts the raised foot down, or hops on one foot.

Other Field Sobriety Tests: Although not standard DUI intoxication tests, police officers will occasionally use the following tests.

• Alphabet: On the rare occasions this test is used (in Colorado), the DUI suspect is asked to recite the alphabet (without singing it), and may be told to stop at a certain letter. The officer is checking to see if the DUI suspect can remember the alphabet, not sing, and remember to stop at a certain letter.

• Counting (backwards): In this test the police officer is asking the DUI suspect to count backwards from, for example, 22 to 11. The officer is checking to see if the DUI suspect can successfully count backwards and remember to stop at 11.