Massachusetts DWI DUI OUI Field Sobriety Test Police Training Manual

Some of these cues are exhibited because the stop command places additional demands on the driver’s ability to divide attention. The signal to stop creates a new situation with which the driver must cope. Flashing emergency lights or a siren demand and divert the driver’s attention, requiring that the driver now divide attention between driving and responding to the stop command. Stopping itself requires the driver simultaneously to turn the steering wheel, put on the brakes, use a turn signal, and so on. Thus the driver’s task becomes more complex when the stop command is given. M impaired driver may not be able to handle this more complex task and additional evidence of impairment may appear.

It is your responsibility to recognize, record and convey the additional evidence of driving impairment that may come to light during the stopping sequence. This task, like Task One, observing the vehicle in operation, requires:

• the ability to recognize evidence of impairment; and

• the ability to describe that evidence clearly and convincingly.

Recognizing and describing the reinforcing cues of DWI that appear during the stopping sequence requires practice.

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