Most people in Michigan know that before a law enforcement officer can place them under arrest, they must have some form of evidence to support the arrest. The type of evidence needed will vary for each type of crime, of course. In the case of charges involving driving under the influence of alcohol, officers would be looking to collect some information and data to support that you may have been intoxicated while you were driving.
One standard exercise during a drunk driving stop is the administration of some non-chemical tests. Called field sobriety tests, these things check for a series of clues such as your ability to balance and to follow directions. However, as explained by FieldSobrietyTests.org, none of these tests can prove that you were drunk while driving. In fact, these tests are not even meant to prove that you were drunk.
The purpose of administering field sobriety tests is to give police officers the opportunity to collect enough evidence to show that you may have been drunk while you were driving. It is with this evidence that they can then legally place you under arrest and charge you with a drunk driving offense. It is important to remember that each of these three tests has a known inaccuracy rate as well.
If you would like to learn more about the different elements of a drunk driving investigation and the type of evidence that may be used against you in this type of case, please feel free to visit the field sobriety testing page of our Michigan drunk driving and criminal defense website.