Videos of Failed Sobriety Tests

If you get pulled over while driving, the officer may suspect you of being under the influence. This could be for the way you were driving, or because when approached, you smelled like booze-burps or slurred your speech. You may then be asked to submit to a field sobriety test. The NHTSA has helped to develop three standard tests to be used in the field. 

1. HGN - Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus - "Follow the pen with only your eyes, don't turn your head" because impaired people's eyes get jerky when turned to the side and it takes (a minor amount of) concentration to avoid the natural tendancy to turn your head toward something your eyes are following.
2. WAT - Walk and Turn - "Walk the line heel to toe, count out loud, nine steps, turn and return, heel to toe, nine steps" because that's a lot for a drunk person to remember, counting out loud to 9 adds multitasking to the challenge, and it's all difficult to do when you can't keep your balance anyway.
3. OLS - One Leg Stand - "One foot off the ground, 6 inches, count 'one-thousand ONE one-thousand TWO one-thousand THREE till I tell you to stop" because balancing on one foot while keeping the other raised a specific height and having to count rythmically is once again, a lot to ask of a drunk person.

Many departments and offices adopt additional tests to assist officers in assessing impairment. Popular tests include 'touch your nose', 'say the alphabet', and 'say the alphabet backwards'.

Here are some videos of field sobriety tests that didn't go so well ...