Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Arizona DUI Defense Blog

Criminal Law

: Arizona DUI Defense Blog

What Do Field Sobriety Tests Prove?

By Lawrence Koplow, Esq.

The short answer is not much. At best, they may correlate to someone having a blood alcohol concentration over a .08. At worst, they prove nothing at all. To understand their meaning you must look at how they came into existence and who developed them. In the late 1970's NHTSA (the National Highway and Traffic Administration) paid for some research to see if tools could be developed for law enforcement to identify people who are potentially DUI / DWI. There were several studies paid for by the government. Specifically, there are six primary studies relied on by law enforcement. However, none of the studies have been subject to peer review. 1977 Study (Not Peer Reviewed) 1981 Study (Not Peer Reviewed) 1983 Study (Not Peer Reviewed) Colorado Study (Not Peer Reviewed) Florida Study (Not Peer Reviewed) San Diego (Not Peer Reviewed) According to Wikipedia, peer review has been defined as:  ...continue to full post

Full post as published by Arizona DUI Defense Blog on June 29, 2009 (boomark / email).