The one leg stand test has two stages the instruction and the performance

As the officer pulls to the scene of an accident where he observes a car has hit a parked car. The officer want to conduct some type of Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST), due to the fact that he smells an odor of alcohol on the occupant of the car. The Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) “is testing given to a suspect thought to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, consisting of the walk and turn, finger to nose, and one leg sand tests” (Gaensslen & Larsen, 2013). The one leg stand test has two stages: the instruction and the performance. The instruction stage is when “an officer will provide verbal
instructions on performing the test as well as a demonstration” (Fieldsobrietytest.org, 2017). The officer will then ask the suspect if he/she understands what is being asked and will instructed the person to processed. The next step, in the performance stage, this is where a person will “raise one leg with their foot parallel and approximately six inches off the ground, with their hands by their side and they will be instructed to, one-one thousand, two-one thousand, etc., while they are looking at their foot”
(Fieldsobrietytest.org, 2017). The way an officer will be able to tell if a person is under the influence is not being able to complete the task without stopping, loses count, etc. Another, test is the walk and turn test. This also has two stages instruction and performance, in this test one would be asked to walk heel to toe on a line that is visible or imaginary with their arms by their sides and counting out loud. The way an officer will determine if a person might be under the influence will be if a person cannot hold their balance, uses their arms for balance, step off the line, etc. lastly, the finger to nose test. This test the officer will instruct one to close their eyes and tilt their head back and then touch their nose with the index finger, this will be done three different times with each hand. When doing, this test the officer will look to see if one is swaying or unable to touch their nose. Many believe that these tests might be effected, but there is are many factors that can take place that causes reason why a person might fail these test, reason being: age, weight (might be overweight), middle ear, health or mental issues.

I believe the best way in this case to determine if the person was under the influence is to have the person to do a breathalyzer. The reason being the person might have had a head injury caused by the accident, which can cause the person to fail every test that was administered by the officer.

Gaensslen, R.E., & Larsen, K. (2013). Introductory Forensic Science. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

One-Leg Stand Test. (2017). Field Sobriety Testing Resource. Retrieved from