05.19.09
How accurate are the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests?
Last night, a colleague of ours forwarded this link to a webpage discussing the statistical inaccuracies of the Standardized Field Sobriety Test battery (SFSTs). While the website is a bit over the top and one-sided in its presentation, it does to some degree point out the numerous problems in attempts the government has made to validate the supposed accuracy of the SFSTs in detecting impaired drivers. What is important to note from that webpage, and others like it, is that SFSTs are not a “magic bullet” allowing officers to perfectly identify DUI drivers. At best they are tools, which when implemented correctly, only give the officer some guidance that a driver may be impaired.
