In this thread a question about skipping the field sobriety test was asked and responded to that it most likely wouldn’t be done. pkbites mentions that the officer has to build groundwork before administering it.
If I haven’t been drinking and I get pulled over and asked to do the field tests, can I just skip right to the heart of the matter and volunteer to take the Portable Breath Test? That way the officer and I can get back into our warm vehicles a little sooner and I won’t have the performance anxiety thing going on and making me look awkward.
IF you are made to or even asked to do any tests without any indication you are DUI, that is an UNreasonable seizure under the 4th AM, so why volunteer when you know they are violating your rights?
But can’t you be arrested for driving under the influence of non-alcoholic substances that wouldn’t register on a breathalyzer? i.e., even some legal cold medications (had a friend get arrested for that) or else illegal drugs that cause your driving to be erratic. Seems they would want to do the field test to check for general impairments, rather than skip straight to the breathalyzer.
It’s stressed during training. If a person has signs of impairment but there is no odor of intoxicants, or a PBT is administer and the reading is low or zero, it can indicate signs of other substances.
Not just that, but couldn’t the field sobriety tests used to get an overly tired driver off the road as well (assuming they were pulled over for doing impaired driving type stuff because they were falling asleep)?
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve done it twice.
Once I was pulled over on on a cold Colorado night on the way home from a friend’s house for not fully stopping at a stop sign before making a right turn. (Guilty.) I realized as I was being pulled over that although I had had two beers over several hours and was well under the limit, the last one was a very hoppy IPA and the smell of beer (not alcohol, but beer) was noticeable even to me. The officer asked if I’d been drinking, and I answered that I had, and that I’d had one beer over several hours. (Or maybe I’d had three and I said two. I remember it was a small number over the course of a long evening, but lowballed it to the cop anyway.) He said that he smelled alcohol on my breath and asked me to step out of the car. I complied and politely said something like “I don’t mind taking any test you like, but since it’s so cold out and I’m absolutely sure I’m under the limit, I’d be happy to just do a Breathalyzer if that’s ok.” The cop looked surprised and asked if I was sure. I said I was, so he gave me the test, looked at the numbers, raised his eyebrows and said, “Yeah, you’re way low! Since you were honest about having been drinking I won’t give you a ticket for running the intersection. Just watch those stop signs and drive carefully!”
The second time I was again driving home from a friend’s house but in a town I didn’t know. I had no idea why I was being stopped. The cop asked how I was doing tonight, and I said, “Fine.” He smirked and said, “Oh really? You didn’t look too fine when you swerved onto the shoulder back there!” I had just looked at my phone to turn off the GPS navigation after getting on the freeway, but I had no idea that I’d swerved. He asked if I’d been drinking, and I answered truthfully that I’d been to a party and had a few beers, that I’d been drinking from a cup so I couldn’t be absolutely sure of the amount but that it was definitely no more than four full beers over five or six hours. (And it was probably closer to three.) The cop asked skeptically why I had swerved, and I sheepishly explained that I’d been turning off my GPS, fully expecting to get a ticket for using my phone while driving (illegal here) even if he believed me. The cop said something else skeptical and had me do the eye movement test. It was late and I was tired, so I was worried that I wouldn’t pass, but I was absolutely certain that I was well under the legal limit, so I asked the cop if I could do a Breathalyzer. He agreed, asked if I’d ever done one before (I lied and said no!) and gave me the test. When he saw the result he did a double take and immediately changed his attitude. “Well, sir,” he said, “I can see you’re telling the truth! I guess it was the phone.” (He hadn’t been impolite or unprofessional before, but it was quite funny how quickly his tone shifted!) I expressed how honestly shocked I was that I’d been distracted enough in the brief time I looked at the phone to cross over the shoulder marker without realizing it, and promised never do so again, and that was it.
The first time I was stopped, the only probable cause was the smell, so I wasn’t too worried, but the second time, it did occur to me that blowing low after driving erratically might lead to a suspicion of other substances. I hadn’t done any other substances, so a blood test would have been fine, but I certainly didn’t want to be taken to the station! I was slightly surprised that it didn’t come up, but I suspect that I just didn’t give off any druggy vibes so the cop didn’t press it. (And my “excuse”–such as it was–was believable.) Even if he technically would have had PC, I don’t imagine the cop wanted the extra hassle any more than I did.
In my state the portable breath tests are basically not done and have no standing in court. Also DUI/DWI is not based solely on the legal limit. That is the per se part of the law. It is illegal to drive while having a BAC of .08% or above. It is also illegal to drive while impaired by drugs or alcohol. Impairment can be proven below .08% BAC. If you blow a .06 and were driving erratically and also failed the field sobriety tests you can be convicted of DUI. Some people can not handle alcohol and absolutely should not be driving even if under the limit. However in the real world, judges do not like to see cases in which the driver was under the limit and there is often a plea bargain.
I’ve done it. When I was in my early 20s in the late 80s, I got pulled over driving home from work late at night. The cop was going on and on about if I was high, or drunk, but I was neither. I said "l’ll take a breathalyzer right now if it speeds this up and he just kind of sent me on my way.
Seeing how I am as pure as the driven snow* I didn’t even think about this. How, if I may ask, are LEOs trained about the fact that someone who usually doesn’t have cause to interact with them might just be so nervous that they flub some, or most, of the field tests?
*= Well, there were those movies. But I was young and needed the money!
In FL where my mom is a second level DUI instructor (she teaches the class for repeat offenders) you can be arrested for “impairment”. Doesn’t really matter what you blow.
I know a guy who was arrested after he blew a .05 because the cop perceived him to be impaired.
You absolutely can be charged with driving while impaired. even if you’re not over the legal limit. Some people have very low tolerance to alcohol and lose physical motor skills as low as .03.