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What is the walk and turn test?

On Behalf of | Jun 1, 2019 | Criminal Defense, Drunk Driving Defense |

If you are ever stopped while driving by a police officer in Minnesota and suspected of potentially being impaired, the officer might ask you to perform a few tests. These are called field sobriety tests. Despite what you might think, these three tests cannot prove that you are drunk and that is not even what they are intended to do. Instead, if you fail one or more of these tests, that may allow an officer to place you under arrest and charge you with drunk driving.

One of these tests is called the walk and turn test. As explained by FieldSobrietyTests.org, before you are told to do anything, the law enforcement officer is supposed to not only describe the test in detail to you but they are also supposed to physically demonstrate it to you. It is only after doing this that the officer should request you perform the test yourself.

In the walk and turn test, you are supposed to walk in a perfectly straight line. You must make sure that when you put a foot in front, its heel touches the toe of the foot in back. Your arms must remain affixed to your sides. If you are overweight or have problems with your knees, feet, legs or back, this test may be all but impossible for you to pass.

This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give residents in Minnesota a basic understanding of what they would be asked to do for the walk and turn test and what things might interfere with their ability to pass this test even if they have not consumed alcohol.

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