'Sir: Please step out of the car'
Test is a weapon against DWI

Grants Police Officer Jeff Marez administers a field sobriety test, but Grants' officers can arrest a suspected drunken driver even if they pass a field test based on other factors an officer may observe. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — When police stop a driver for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it is because the person has driven erratically, failed to stop at a stop sign, or made one or more of a number of other errors while driving, said Lt. Maxine Spidle, Grants Police.

Motorists on highways and city streets have probably seen, at one time or another, law enforcement officers giving what is called "field sobriety tests" to drivers on the side of the roads.

What is it that these officers check? What do they test? And how do they know whether someone is under the influence or not, aside from a half dozen bottles of beer in the vehicle and the driver reeking of alcohol?

In Grants, one of the tests police officers conduct is a nine-step walk and turn, Spidle said.

"The driver is asked to walk heel-to-toe without losing balance," she said. The officer observes whether the driver fully comprehends the instructions given and the way they complete, or do not complete, the test that is given them, she said. This observation is made for each of the tests.

"We carry out a service when we stop and arrest a driver that is DWI," she said.

Those drivers at the least may cause a traffic violation and often cause accidents where people are injured and often die, she said.

Police are trained to observe traffic and drivers who are erratic driving from side to side over the lanes and who sway, perhaps driving off the road. The officers then stop the vehicle. This stop is in itself a "probable cause," because of the erratic driving.

Another test given to drivers is the one-leg stand. Drivers are asked to stand on one leg for 30 seconds with their foot raised a certain height from the ground, point their toes forward and hold their hands at their sides.

If a driver has a leg or ankle problem, from surgery or an injury, there are other tests officers can give.

Another one of the sobriety tests administered is the "horizontal gaze and nystygmus." Part of that test is watching the eyes of the driver and observing whether the eyes move smoothly, Spidle said.

When a driver fails one or more of these three basic tests, the person is a candidate for an arrest for DWI.

Even if a driver does not fail any of the tests, the officer has the option to arrest the person for DWI because of probable cause, Spidle said.

— To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197, or e-mail: jimtiffin1@msn.com.