A look of intense concentration crossed Carl VanDyke’s face as he watched the man standing eye-to-eye with him visually trace the path of an ink pen.
VanDyke and fellow recruit John Bunch, both enrolled in the 19-week police academy and hoping to become Federal Way officers, learned March 17 what clues indicate an intoxicated driver could be behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. The police training taught the men how to conduct a standard field sobriety test (SFST) and how to ensure the test results will hold up in court if a driver challenges their judgement.
“This is a very very intense part of their instruction,” Federal Way police spokesman Raymond Bunk said.
In 2007, 317 drivers were arrested in Federal Way for DUI, Bunk said. In 2008, 297 were arrested, he said. Not everyone who is pulled over is arrested. If the driver does not show symptoms of intoxication and passes the field sobriety test, he or she is typically deemed capable of driving.
Swerving, taking wide turns, varying the vehicle’s speed and slowness in reacting to roadside distractions are all indicators a driver could be intoxicated. If police witness a series of these actions, they have reason to stop a motorist. But issuing a DUI is not a quick and simple process. It requires detailed notes and clearly given directions. It is a commitment that takes several hours to complete, but could save a person’s life.
By observing the driver’s physical appearance and face-to-face interaction, an officer will decide if a standard field sobriety test ought to be performed. The test includes three tasks designed to assess a person’s mental and physical impairment.
The first and most telling task in the sequence is the horizontal gaze nystagmus. An officer will ask the driver to follow an object with his or her eyes as it is moved in a steady horizontal path. A vertical gaze test is also performed. The eyes will begin to move in a jerking pattern if the person is intoxicated, according to the recruits’ SFST student training manual. The movement cannot be controlled. The horizontal gaze test, alone, is 77 percent accurate in indicating a high level of intoxication, according to the manual.
“This is one test people can’t practice,” Washington State Patrol Cpl. and basic academy instructor Monica Matthews said. “It’s involuntary.”
Next comes the walk-and-turn test and the one-legged stand. Both challenge a driver’s ability to divide his or her attention between multiple tasks. The walk-and-turn portion of the SFST requires a motorist to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line for the number of steps indicated by the officer. The one-legged stand requires the person to poise on one leg. A person unable to keep balance and follow directions during these tasks may be too intoxicated to operate a motor vehicle.
If an officer determines there is enough evidence to indicate the driver is intoxicated, the driver may be asked to take a preliminary breath test. Neither the field sobriety nor the breath test are mandatory. But if a motorist refuses to take them, it forces the officer to determine, with limited information, whether that person should be driving.
“The more evidence we have, the more informed a decision we can make whether it’s safe for them to drive,” Matthews said.
