Reader’s Question:

I find the finger-count test during a DUI investigation very amusing when I was asked to do this during a DUI stop in Shoreline, Washington. My question is, would a failure in this kind of test really an indication that the driver had been drinking?

Elaina

Shoreline, WA

Police officers in Shoreline, Washington often ask a driver to complete the field sobriety tests such as the finger-count test. But officers do not use the finger-count test to decide to arrest a driver because that decision has usually been made before the test starts. The results of the test are usually used to create probable cause to make an arrest and to obtain evidence for a DUI court case. Unlike the tests that are given in school, it is said that the finger-count exercise should not be even called a test because it is set up for drivers to fail.

The finger-count test is not a standardized field sobriety test recognized by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). Because of that, failure to this test is not really an indication that the driver is intoxicated and it carries less weight in court than a standardized test. The “clues” of intoxication that officers look for are extremely subjective, which means that they can be interpreted in a number of ways. Illness, nervousness and fatigue could cause a driver to “fail” the finger-count test. Certain injuries and illnesses that impair motor skills could also impact a driver’s performance. Police officers sometimes do not even conduct the test properly.

Tags: DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer, field sobriety tests