Does it help if you say it in French?
That’s so sad, hlanelee. 
I avoid saying things backwards, for I just might be forced to return to the fifth dimension.
In New Jersey and (probably New York and Connecticut), they don’t need the test to build a case against you. Permission to take the test is implied as soon as you get behind the wheel of the car. Refusing the test is 6-month suspended license and possibly fines as well. Essentially the same punishment for DUI.
AFAIK, only the breathalyzer or blood or urine samples are used. I have never heard of any of the “walk a straight line” or “say the Chinese alphabet backwards” tests being used (which of course does not mean they are or aren’t). IANAL but I would think you would have a better chance in court defending against the inherant inaccuracies of such field tests then to take the default punishment for refusing to take them.
You can’t beat the system by refusing the tests otherwise no one would ever get a DUI.
For reference:
Hey, they use the same test we use in the ICU to see if a patient is brain-injured… count backwards from 100 by 7’s.
You think you can’t say the alphabet backwards…
What the hell does “interpitation” mean?
When I was a pilot learning the phonetic alphabet I practiced saying it backwards…Zulu, Yankee, X-ray…I can still do it on the fly with no errors 12 years later.
-Tcat
sailor, we’re not all as smart as you. What’s up with you harping on spelling lately, of all things? 
I think David Simmons has it right; the officers already have a damn good idea that you’re drunk. The alphabet test is just to see how bad you are. It’s not a question of whether you can say the alphabet backwards, it’s a question of how badly you’re going to mess up. They don’t ask you, I would think, if you appear to be sotally tober.
In first grade we learned the alphabet backwards as well as forward even to this day I can recite it backwards just as fast. ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA “singing”
twenty-six letters…little keys soon we learn are ABCs. A very geeky skill.
Speaking with 17 years experience as a cop, here.
The Standard Field Sobriety Tests (the ones that have been most studied and analyzed) are the Walk and Turn test (walking a straight line), the One Leg Stand test, and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test (looking for tell-tale movements of the eyeballs). With these three tests (especially the Gaze Nystagmus), I can estimate a driver’s BAC level within a couple of hundredths.
While the first two tests do include balance, one of the main things we are looking for is the ability to pay attention and follow instructions.
The alphabet test is one of a few others that are also used, but aren’t preferred. The test is not to recite the alphabet backwards - just recite it normally without singing. The purpose of this test is to listen for slurring (particularly on l,m,n,o,p,q) and for skipping letters. Giving this test can often be entertaining - you would be amazed at how badly some people do on this, but they honestly don’t realize it.
hoboonmoto is right, you do not have to submit to the field sobriety tests (at least not in my state, and I don’t believe you do anywhere else).
Refusing the breath test is another matter. In Washington, you can refuse the breath test, but your license will be suspended for one or two years, depending on your record. The penalties if you are convicted are more harsh if you refused the test, and the refusal can be used against you in court (and every juror I’ve talked to considered refusing to be pretty much an admission of guilt). I strongly advise anyone in the situation to talk to an attorney before deciding. Here, attorneys always advise people to not answer any questions but to submit to the breath test.
One last thing: The easiest way to avoid all this is just don’t drink and drive! When will people learn this?? 
Okay, so you you have the right to consult an attorney before you submit to a breath analysis test? That seems like either (1) your BAC would still be rising by time you took the test giving a bad measurement of the time you were driving, or (2) time for the alcohol to wear off a bit.
Just FYI, from a NYS guide to DWI laws:
Bolding mine.
In the defensive driving course I took here recently, the instructor said that refusal to take the field test would likely result in arrest, after which the above rules regarding the chemical test would apply. He also said that NYS troopers now have nifty flashlights with alcohol sniffers (like the bomb chemical sniffers used at airports) built into the light end of the flashlight; while the trooper shines the light in your face, they can look at a gauge at their end and get a sense of your degree of intoxication. Personally, I would not want to run the risk of seeing this new technology in action.
That has to be true unless I happen to be the dumbest person on the planet which is unlikely.
Spelling is one thing and I usually do not harp on what are obviously typos or mispellings but this is egregious. Would you take advice from someone who thought “interpitation” is a real word? I have difficulty “interpitating” such language. Maybe I am just not a good “interpitater”. 
I would gladly take advice from someone who couldn’t spell “interpretation,” so long as said advice derived from hands-on experience and not learned fact.
An auto mechanic who can’t spell “carburetor” is no less the mechanic for his supposed failing; his knowledge of what the carburator is, what it does, and where it is located is more important.
I remember reading the story of a man telling of his drunk driving event. He had been pulled over, and the cop had him do a couple of the tests, which he flunked. The other cop behind him said, “Aw Sarge, this guy’s all right, give him another chance.”
So Sarge said, “OK, sir, can you find your butt with both hands?”
So he grabbed his two butt cheeks, and felt a Click as the cop behind him snapped the cuffs on.
I like this so much it’s probably an urban legend
Okay, as a cop let me weigh in. Refuse, refuse, refuse the tests. Yes you will have your license suspended and lots of other scary stuff, but you can get out of jail time depending on how you react. Also, a lot of boneheads will refuse the breath and agility tests, which are both recorded. However they will be singing or fall out of their chair or some other drunken antics which the judge sees and knows you are drunk, test or no.
We don’t use speaking tests. In the NYPD we use breath and motor skills, and we always do it back at the station in front of a camera, never in the field.