Massachusetts DWI DUI OUI Field Sobriety Test Police Training Manual

You may have developed a strong suspicion that the driver is impaired prior to the face-to-face observation and interview. You may have developed this suspicion by observing something unusual while the vehicle was in motion, or during the stopping sequence, or you may have developed no suspicion of DWI prior to the face-to-face contact. The vehicle operation and the stop may have been normal, you may have seen no actions suggesting DWI. For example, you may have stopped the vehicle for a equipment/registration violation, or where no unusual driving was evident. In some cases, Phase One will have been absent. For example, you may first encounter the driver and vehicle after a crash or when responding to a request for motorist assistance.

Regardless of the evidence that may have come to light during Detection Phase One, your initial face-to-face contact with the driver usually provides the first definite indications that the driver is impaired.

DECISION

Based upon your face-to-face interview and observation of the driver, and upon your previous observations of the vehicle in motion and the stopping sequence, you must decide whether there is sufficient reason to instruct the driver to step from the vehicle.

For some law enforcement officers, this decision is automatic since their agency policy dictates that the driver always be told to exit the vehicle, regardless of the cause for the stop. Other agencies, however, treat this as a discretionary decision, to be based on what the officer sees, hears and smells during observation and interview with the driver while the driver is seated in the vehicle.

If you decide to instruct the driver to exit, you must closely observe the driver’s actions during the exit from the vehicle and note any evidence of impairment.

TYPICAL INVESTIGATION CLUES: THE DRIVER INTERVIEW

Face-to-face observation and interview of the driver allows you to use three senses to gather evidence of alcohol and/or other drug influence:

• the sense of sight;

• the sense of hearing; and

• the sense of smell.

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