I’ve been asked before whether or not a person stopped for DUI should do field sobriety testing. First, let me point out that your participation in field sobriety testing if asked to do so by a law enforcement officer is completely voluntary. The law is that the officer does not have to tell you this when he asks you to do the tests, but you DO NOT have to do field sobriety testing when you are stopped for DUI. My best advice is to politely and respectfully decline when the officer asks you to participate in field sobriety tests.
I am trained in field sobriety testing and I’ve dealt with many cases of DUI that involved field sobriety testing. I have watched DUI suspects do well and do poorly on video of their field sobriety testing. But, it doesn’t seem to matter much whether they do well or poorly, they get arrested and prosecuted for DUI.
In my opinion, all you are doing if you participate in DUI field sobriety testing is helping the officer make his case against you for DUI. You can bet, if a law enforcement officer is asking you to do field sobriety testing, the chances are that he has already decided that he is going to arrest you for DUI.
Don’t forget, you have the right to refuse, and I suggest you do so.