DUI Attorney | Walk And Turn Explained

I'm a Seattle DUI attorney. That means I spend a lot of time helping people get out of DUI charges. And, more specifically, I help people tell prosecutors, and sometimes juries, why they actually weren't drunk but were the victim of a set of failed tests that people have been brainwashed to believe are fail safe.

One of those tests, called standardized field sobriety tests by the cops, and simply called field tests by DUI lawyers, is the walk and turn. As the name implies, it is a test that involves walking and turning. But there is much more to it. And if you fail, it allegedly provides an officer some level of certainty that you are too drunk to drive.

The instructions for the test are fairly straightforward, though if you've never heard them before the length can be a little distracting. In short, these are the instructions: "Place your right foot in front of your left foot with your hands at your side and stay there until the instructions are finished. With your hands at your side, walk heel to toe nine steps, then pivot around with small steps around your left foot and take nine heel to toe steps back. While you are walking keep your eyes fixed on your feet and count out your steps. Go."

Sounds pretty easy, right. Okay, do it. See how easy it is. The clues they use are these - starts before the directions are finished, no heel to toe, arms are raised away from side, sways while listening to directions, doesn't take the correct number of steps, doesn't count the steps. If you do two of these things you fail and you better be on the phone to your criminal attorney pronto.

The problem with this test is twofold, at least. First, it doesn't test your ability to drive a car safely. It is a completely random test dreamed up by someone who thought there might be a correlation between it and driving. But the tests don't add up (these tests have never been scientifically validated and published). Second, the test doesn't take into account age, height, and weight differentials. Think a 25 year old fit man and a 65 year old overweight man should perform the same? The people who made this test up do.

This is why most DUI lawyers preach that you should not do field sobriety tests if asked. You most likely won't pass, and if you don't, there is that much more evidence they'll try to use against you.