Things You Should Expect in a Sobriety Checkpoint

Police officers will ask for your

Driver’s license

Registration

Proof of Car Insurance

Police officers will ask you questions like:

Where are you headed?

Where are you coming from?

Have you been drinking?

Police officers will observe signs of intoxication such as:

Bloodshot eyes

Smell of alcohol

Slurred speech

Flushed face

If the officer thinks you have been drinking, you’ll be doing field sobriety tests.

Three standardized field sobriety tests: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)

Walk-and-Turn (WAT)

One-Leg Stand (OLS)

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)

Nystagmus is the involuntary jerking, twitching or bouncing of eyeball.

Horizontal gaze nystagmus is the lateral or horizontal jerking of the eye when it gazes to the side, which could be associated to intoxication.

Officers use a pen or a penlight. They would ask the driver to look at the pen and follow its direction. (See photo)

(Source: NHTSA)

Walk-and-Turn (WAT)

This is a divided attention test. The driver would be instructed to walk (heel-to-toe) nine steps in a straight line. After the ninth step, the driver must turn in the opposite direction in the same manner. (Refer to the photo)

(Source: FieldSobrietyTests.Net)

One-Leg Stand (OLS)

In this test, the officer will ask the driver to stand in one leg (his foot six inches above the ground) while maintaining his/her arms at the side. (Refer to the photo)

The test would last for 30 seconds.

The driver should not sway, hop or place the foot down during the entire test. (Source: SobrietyTest.org)

A lot of DUI arrests happened in Sobriety Checkpoints. One way to prevent DUI arrests from happening to you is to not drink and drive in the first place.