Question: What’s the Reliability of the Wisconsin Field Sobriety Tests?

Answer: If the tests are administered absolutely correctly without any problems they are considered reliable, however less reliable than even the polygraph tests, which are found to be too unreliable to be admissible in most states in this country. The reality is very few police officers can administer the tests according to how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandated. Therefore, there is no reliability to these tests because no one does them properly. A good defense lawyer with proper training in both the student field sobriety test courses and the instructor courses will be able to find where the officer made a mistake, or where he or she made some mistakes, and establish that these tests are actually not reliable if the officer concludes that a person’s intoxicated as a result of them.