DWI Traffic Stops Part Two: Don’t Do the Tests

In part one we discussed how you shouldn’t answer those little innocuous questions the Officer asks you that often come across as just small talk during DWI traffic stops. In part two, I want to talk about why it is vitally important that you not attempt to perform any physical field sobriety tests, no matter your level of sobriety.

Field sobriety tests are set up to make you fail. They are hard to do. Many officers describe and demonstrate what they want you to do so quickly that it is hard to follow. Usually they don’t demonstrate the whole test they want you to perform. Unless you can do them with exacting perfection, a 100% right, they are going to be used against you in a court of law. And you can bet that if you do 98 things out of a 100 right, the prosecutor is not going to stop hammering home in their argument the two things you did wrong.

Keep in mind that the teacher who is grading your exam is not exactly an objective bystander. If there is no video in the patrol car, or you aren’t doing the tests directly in front of the patrol car’s video camera, you are at the mercy of the Officer’s notes about your test performance. They have already invested some time in running your license and registration, have smelled an odor of alcohol, and you should assume that they already think the worst, that you are impaired. They are there to nitpick your performance to death. How you do on the tests only confirms their suspicions, and seldom if ever changes their mind or prevents an arrest.

Don’t do the DWI field sobriety tests. It’s that simple. By all means kill them with kindness when you say you aren’t going to do them. But remain steadfast, courageous, and say NO.

Are you going to still be arrested for DWI? Possibly. But you have made it a much harder case for the State to prove and easier for your Raleigh DWI Lawyer to defend you in court.