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Why would anyone take a field sobriety test?

Girlpower

Girlpower

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The cops will never give you a passing grade and let you go without testing you so the only point of doing them is to give them more evidence against you in court.
 
refuse the test and face the consequences.

Many States have laws regarding refusing to take a sobriety test. Most of them results in the person going to jail.
In my State the DUI laws were written by GOP lawmakers.

The best thing is to not drink and drive. Then sobriety is not an issue.
 
In most States, a being issued a driver's license and your acceptance of said driver's license constitutes consent to any sobriety test. A refusal to take a sobriety test usually comes with severe consequences.

But if a person doesn't drink and drive (or use drugs and drive), then they really have zero problem.
 
Hypothetically, If I've been drinking and I'm unsure if I would pass, I will insist they do a blood draw. That will take time and any delay increases my chances of passing. I'll take a sobriety test, but not roadside.
 
Safiel said:
In most States, a being issued a driver's license and your acceptance of said driver's license constitutes consent to any sobriety test. A refusal to take a sobriety test usually comes with severe consequences.

But if a person doesn't drink and drive (or use drugs and drive), then they really have zero problem.
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My father-in-law is 90, still drives, never drinks, and he could not pass a roadside sobriety test to save his life. He's tried, heel and toe, finger to nose, recite the alphabet backwards, etc. Can't do any of that.
 
mike2810 said:
........

The best thing is to not drink and drive. Then sobriety is not an issue.
Click to expand...

Safiel said:
.......

But if a person doesn't drink and drive (or use drugs and drive), then they really have zero problem.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, being stone cold sober will not stop some police from accusing you of being DUI and demanding that you perform field sobriety tests, which are horribly subjective and open to abuse if the officer wishes to do so. In other countries the road police carry breathalysers with them and do a quick breath test. Totally objective with no room for error, and the test is over in 2 or 3 minutes. That deals with 90% of cases without any opportunity for police abuse of process, and the other few cases where drugs other than alcohol are suspected you go straight to blood testing. The subjectivity of the FST's is wring, and there are endless videos of that process being abused by police who just have a bad attitude towards the driver involved.
 
Girlpower said:
The cops will never give you a passing grade and let you go without testing you so the only point of doing them is to give them more evidence against you in court.
Click to expand...

In many states, the issuance of a D/L codifies "Implied Consent", where your D/L is automatically suspended if you refuse to test

This is known as a "Summary Suspension".

I'm not that surprised you don't know this though, as after looking at your forum status indicator, it seems you may also be lacking some knowledge in other types of suspensions as well!
 
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Chomsky said:
I'm not that surprised you don't know this though, as after looking at your forum status indicator, it seems you may also be lacking some knowledge in other types of suspensions as well!
Click to expand...
😁
 
Chomsky said:
In many states, the issuance of a D/L codifies "Implied Consent", where your D/L is automatically suspended if you refuse to test

This is known as a "Summary Suspension".

I'm not that surprised you don't know this though, as after looking at your forum status indicator, it seems you may also be lacking some knowledge in other types of suspensions as well!
Click to expand...

I think that applies to refusing a (breath or blood) BAC test. The field observation of motor skills ‘test’ isn’t mentioned in Texas law.

www.botsfordroark.com

Can You Refuse a Breathalyzer Test in Texas? | Botsford & Roark

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Girlpower said:
The cops will never give you a passing grade and let you go without testing you so the only point of doing them is to give them more evidence against you in court.
Click to expand...

Because in some areas it's an admission of guilt. Straight to jail. It's counter intuitive but if you take a sobriety test you're giving your defense attorney something to work with.
 
Canada just lowered the blood alcohol limit to <0.05. Best not to do any drinking and driving.
 
Allan said:
Canada just lowered the blood alcohol limit to <0.05. Best not to do any drinking and driving.
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What does that mean for a 200 pound man? As in how many 12oz beers?
 
L88 said:
What does that mean for a 200 pound man? As in how many 12oz beers?
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I used an alcohol calculator to figure this out on another thread. That level is reached by consuming (within 2 hours) 4 drinks for men and 3 for women, assuming average weight.
 
Girlpower said:
The cops will never give you a passing grade and let you go without testing you so the only point of doing them is to give them more evidence against you in court.
Click to expand...
I imagine you think liver failure is an excuse to try harder. :rolleyes:
 
In my state a refusal to submit to a field breathalyzer test results in an automatic license suspension of 1 year if no previous DUI's, and 3 years if there exist previous DUI convictions within the past 5 years.

Generally in most states, the penalties for refusing to be tested are more severe than submitting to and failing a breath/blood/urine test.

If you fail a DUI sobriety test, a first time offender can obtain a monitoring device driving permit (MDDP) as long as the vehicle is equipped with a BAIID. Those who refuse the sobriety test are not eligible for the MDDP option.
 
L88 said:
Because in some areas it's an admission of guilt. Straight to jail. It's counter intuitive but if you take a sobriety test you're giving your defense attorney something to work with.
Click to expand...

I believe the opposite is true.

Lawyers always say to refuse field sobriety tests, but what's the point of refusing if you’ll almost certainly get arrested for refusing the field test and taken back to the station to get your BAC measured regardless of what you do?
I was a cop for 15 years. At one time, DUI interdiction was my specialty. Always refuse a SFST. By consenting to the test, you’re giving the officer the evidence he needs to convict you. By refusing the SFST, breath, or blood test, the officer has to do dang good police work in articulating in his report as to what establishes probably cause that you were driving under the influence. Few officers are as proficient at report writing as they should be. Your lawyer would thank you. But be polite and compliant at all times, but advise that you respectfully refuse to submit to his test. You might get lucky and they get mad and make a mistake. But let it be a leasing to not drive intoxica
 
Ishm said:
Unfortunately, being stone cold sober will not stop some police from accusing you of being DUI and demanding that you perform field sobriety tests, which are horribly subjective and open to abuse if the officer wishes to do so. In other countries the road police carry breathalysers with them and do a quick breath test. Totally objective with no room for error, and the test is over in 2 or 3 minutes. That deals with 90% of cases without any opportunity for police abuse of process, and the other few cases where drugs other than alcohol are suspected you go straight to blood testing. The subjectivity of the FST's is wring, and there are endless videos of that process being abused by police who just have a bad attitude towards the driver involveYd.
Click to expand...
Yes, there are bad law enforcement officers. imo, it is such a small number compared to the total police force.
yes, a sobriety test can be subjective.
One can demand a breathalyzer or blood test. Even those have the chance of error.

Did you or someone you know have a bad experience and got pulled over for suspected DUI?
 
Allan said:
I used an alcohol calculator to figure this out on another thread. That level is reached by consuming (within 2 hours) 4 drinks for men and 3 for women, assuming average weight.
Click to expand...
That seems like a lot of drinks. I guess I'm a light weight.
 
Girlpower said:
The cops will never give you a passing grade and let you go without testing you so the only point of doing them is to give them more evidence against you in court.
Click to expand...
Kinda sorta. Most lawyers will tell you if you're sober, take the test. If you're not, don't for the reasons you stated.
 
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