1. The field tests lack scientific validity in determining alcohol intoxication. *
2. Police studies validating SFST’s grossly depart from accepted scientific methods.
3. Neither the original National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) studies nor the validation studies have ever been published in a peer review publication to demonstrate scientific reliability of intoxication.
4. Studies have shown that field tests are hardly more accurate at predicting intoxication than flipping a coin.
5. There were numerous false positive police opinions in the SFST validation studies.
6. Police do not have a comparable baseline for field sobriety test performance when intoxicants are not a factor.
7. Police do not strictly adhere to the SFST guidelines, which compromises the validity of the SFST’s.
8. Police will not give you an opportunity to practice before taking the test.
9. Police are not properly qualified and/or experienced in administering these tests.
10. Police score you on an unfair negative scoring system (e.g. before you even start walking on the “line” on the walk and turn test, you can fail).

* Source: Validation of The Standardized Field Sobriety Test Batter at BAC’s Below 0.10 Percent (Stuster and Burns, August 1998).
- Prepared for the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

“Horizontal gaze nystagmus lacks face validity because it does not appear to be linked to the requirements of driving a motor vehicle. The reasoning is correct, but it is based on the incorrect assumption that field sobriety tests are designed to measure driving impairment.”

“It is unlikely that complex human performance, such as that required to safely drive an automobile, can be measured at roadside… The link between BAC and driving impairment is a separate issue, involving entirely different research methods.”