Few police officers ask for a detailed medical history of their detained citizen, nor do they often ask if he has any physical disabilities or injuries which might affect any coordination or vision tests. These are critical questions that impact any test results. There are hundreds of diseases which can affect a driver's condition to perform weird tests. Arthritis and leg injuries can obviously prevent a citizen from performing any kind of walking tests (despite a chronic knee injury from attempting to hike several miles down a mountain through three feet of snow, I still felt I had performed all the tests perfectly). Some diseases of the internal organs can even produce acetone, which is the so-called odor of odorless alcohol. Both diabeties and dieting can also produce acetone in a person's breath. No scientific test can be accurate without a full medical background check. If the citizen acknowleges he "is under a doctor's care," this is used against the citizen to allege he is high on prescription drugs, rather than an indication he might have physical difficulty performing complicated coordination tests. The national government recommends that overweight people and people over the age of 60 not be asked to take these tests, since their failure rate when sober is nearly 100%, even when tested in an "honest" laboratory environment. Certainly, any citizen with a learning or speech disabilty will be perceived as intoxicated, even when perfectly sober.

For example, one study proved 50% of police officers are incapable of judging intoxication during the field sobriety test. This is according to Dr. Spurgeon Cole of Clemson University. Note that this test did not take into account the financial greed factor of the cops (or the courts), nor did it take into account any personal prejudices of the officer towards a particular citizen.

James W. Langebrucher and Peter E. Nathan of Rutgers University Alcohol Behavior Research Lab wrote a report titled "Psychology, Public Policy, and the Evidence for Alcohol Intoxication," published in American Psycologist #1070 (October 1983). They discovered that police are only accurate to judge intoxication in 25% of field sobriety tests. Note that this test did not take into account the financial greed factor of the cops (or the courts), nor did it take into account any personal prejudices of the officer towards a particular citizen.

Even the government's National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration admits that 35 out of 100 people who "fail" a field sobriety test are not under the influence (and thus falsely accused). Note that this test did not take into account the financial greed factor of the cops (or the courts), nor did it take into account any personal prejudices of the officer towards a particular citizen.

The field sobriety test does not measure driving ability, according to the Southern California Research Institute (1987), which is what a charge of DWI is all about. This casts some doubt upon all alleged results, since the crime is for "driving" not "standing while intoxicated." When driving, a person is aware of the danger and thus concentrates intensely, with no cop with a gun riding in the back seat to intimidate him. Standing on the side of the dark road in relative safety while blinded with flashing lights is is an entirely different situation.

These statistics do not take into account the difficulty of passing an officer's home-made field sobriety test, which may very well have a 100% failure rate.

There are several tricks to the field sobriety test. Amazingly, police do not tell citizens the rules of the test. There is no rule book for a driver to study before taking the "test". This might lead an intelligent person to wonder how in the world it is possible to pass any test where the rules are unknown? Nobody would ever pass beyond the first grade if this were the school system's method of testing its "teaching" performance.

For example, after a cop orders a citizen to perform a particular maneuver, if the citizen does what he was told to do, he fails. The citizen must wait for the word "begin" for every test, or it is judged an automatic failure. The slightest twitch or sway is judged a failure, even when walking an invisible and imaginary straight line on a dark gravel-covered roadside, or when trying to balance on one leg. Arms are NOT allowed to be moved for balance. Not even circus tightrope walkers are capable of that trick. When ordered to touch a finger to nose, police intentionally neglect to inform that means finger tip to nose tip. Lack of balance, not following exact directions, not touching heel to toe, using arms to balance, losing balance on 180 degree turn or miscounting steps are all judged as failure. It is a myth that simply being completely unable to do the test is the only way to fail, just as it is a myth that sober people can pass it.

Cold weather can adversely affect the equilibrium of the inner ear, throwing a citizen off balance. Cold "shivers" can obviously affect balance as well, for someone who is not wearing his coat.

For a citizen who is unaccustomed to the military way of taking orders (or has not recently played the child's game of Simon Says), it is very difficult to get verbal tests or orders right on the first attempt. No second attempt is ever given.

If a citizen appears to be comfortable during the test, the officer can presume he has caught himself an experienced drunk driver. In other words, good performance can be scored proof of intoxication. If a driver asks the cop to show him how to do each test, usually the cop can't even do it (which would look damning to the government's prosecution when caught on videotape).

The caffeine in coffee can adversely affect a citizen's field sobriety test balance performance even more than alcohol. This is according to a report titled "Interaction of Alcohol and Caffeine on Human Reaction Time, by Osborne and Rogers, published in Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, #528, (June 1983).

The alphabet portion of the field sobriety test is even failure designed. Although people certainly use the English language every day (assuming English is their native language), in speaking, reading and writing, reciting the alphabet is an entirely different matter. Most people don't practice their alphabet every day, or even every decade. Even if the citizen correctly recites the ABC's, the officer can interrupt and order a change of speed, throwing the citizen out of cadence. Another common trick is to order the citizen to start or stop after a certain letter, which would be pretty difficult for anyone to do if ordered to say ABCs at a fast pace. Perfect recitation can provoke the police into ordering a repeat performance over and over until a mistake is made. Illiterate or dyslexic citizens are especially at risk if they are too embarrassed to admit their disability. Many officers even require reciting the alphabet backwards, which only a very small percentage of sober people are capable of doing. Hesitation is judged as failure. Saying, "I can't even do that sober" appears to be the "confession" cops are looking for with that particualr trick, although many cops still expect citizens to memorize ABC's backward and forward -- or simply expect all citizens to "fail".

Whiteness of the eyes can be adversely affected by many common diseases, such as bacterial or viral conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis, keratitis, herpes, lesions, ulcers, foreign body, stye (boil in eyelash follicle), abrasion, glaucoma, episcleritis, contact dermatitis or prescription use of anti-inflammatory steroids. Many of these diseases also cause watery eyes, which can either be from overproduction of tears, or from blockage of the tear ducts. Simple eyestrain, common among people who wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, can also cause red, watery eyes.

"Testing" of the pupils of the eyes is done by shining a flashlight into them. Alcohol is only one of the many factors that can affect the speed of pupil contraction. So can being tired. Contracted pupils can indicate farsightedness or anger. Dilated pupils can indicate nearsightedness, amazement or fright. Advertising agencies invest millions of dollars in scientific studies that measure people's pupil responces to various advertising gimmicks. Inequality of pupils simply indicates an inequality of prescription between the right and left eyes. Certain diseases of the eyes can affect this test, including dilation of the pupil when a light is shown into it, the opposite of normal contraction. Wearing contact lenses can change the test results: nearsighted people will have enlarged pupils, and farsighted people will have reduced pupils.

In the Horizontal Gaze Task (H.G. Task) test, a cop attempts to guess blood-alcohol level via "nystagmus" movement of the eyeball as it tracks a sideways moving object, such as a finger or pencil. All eyes have nystagmus, and it is a normal and necessary biological process of viewing (scanning) objects. Nystagmus is not something that suddenly appears due to alcohol consumption. In fact, vision will fail in only five seconds without nystagmus (the Troxler Effect). Police officers often grade this as a pass or fail test, which is incorrect and proof of the officer's ignorance and incompetence. This test is actually an attempt at scientific measurement of the exact percent blood-alcohol level, down to one one-hundredth of one-percent BAC, yet it is performed in an unscientific setting. No scientific measurement of angle is taken by any police officer, yet this angle is what the entire test is based upon. Probationary cops-in-training are given a paper "measuring device" to show the alleged 45-degree angle that nystagmus is supposed to not occur with 100% of the human population, yet cops fail to use this "scientific" measuring device. Instead, "Terminator" cops allegedly have amazing "calibrated eyeballs" that sound some type of warning at exactly 45-degrees, which is, of course, a physical impossibility.

Physiological nystagmus is a complicated and nearly-imperceptable double twitching movement of a normal eye, occuring not simply as a jerking movement that most police officers assume nastagmus is. Saccadic movements of the eye are normally very rapid, cycling many times per second, and are necessary for viewing and tracking objects. Under perfectly ideal laboratory conditions, administered by a medical doctor, this test cannot measure a blood alcohol level that is below 0.05%, simply because the eyeballs cannot turn far enough to the side. Yet 45 degrees also allegedly equals 0.05% BAC (doesn't this equal 100% error?). Put another way, every person tested has at least 0.05% BAC, according to the government. In the laboratory, measuring devices are used to measure the angle at which nystagmus begins. Forty-five degrees is considered "normal," and this is also the limit that two eyes can focus together (although some people have a larger nose bridge that restricts the angle that both eyes can see an object). Many people have "lazy eye," or "squint," which is just one of many illnesses which affect nystagmus.

The H.G. Task test, as administered by a police officer, is a junk science attempt to measure end-point nystagmus. End-point nystagmus occurs in all normal people, though it may become more pronounced with disease, fatigue, drugs or excessive alcohol. If the test object is held too far to the side, it is impossible for someone to see the object with both eyes. When the object comes into view of the second eye, the second eye begins tracking the object: this is not nystagmus. Also, the eyes cannot track an object merely with peripheral vision--they must wait for the object to come into view of the central part of both eyes.

Alcohol overuse narrows a person's field of vision. 40 degrees is allegedly 0.10% BAC; 35 degrees is allegedly 0.15% BAC; 30 degrees is allegedly 0.20% BAC; and eyes can't even follow a moving object above 0.25% BAC. Yet a police officer does not use any measuring devices to accurately measure the angle at which nastagmus begins. He just guesses.

Both caffeine and nicotine have a drastic effect on nystagmus angle, according to the report "Interaction of Alcohol and Caffeine on Human Reaction Time." Asprin can also seriously affect nastagmus, as can many medications. Even vitamin-A, which is required for normal vision, can cause nystagmus.

If the H.G. Task test is administered after midnight, the result should be reduced by 0.05% blood-alcohol, due to circadian rythym (staying up past normal bedtime). "Miner's Nystagmus" is a normal reaction to eyestrain from low-light conditions. Altered nystagmus angle can even remain up to five hours after all alcohol is eliminated by the body. Sixty-percent of the population has a normal nystagmus angle of 40 degrees, which equals an alleged blood-alcohol of 0.10%.

H.G. Task tests can be in error by as much as 0.10% blood alcohol. Even the government's National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has determined that its own H.G. Task test shows a false positive for 65% of the population. This 65% error figure does not take into account police lying for profit and profitable quotas; it merely shows how wrong it is in the laboratory under perfect lighting conditions with no money at stake, so the inaccuracy in the real world is probably well over 90%. The NHTSA does not approve of the H.G. Task test for sobriety testing by police officers, yet every cop and court uses it for scientific "proof" of intoxication. It carries the same validity in court as a %BAC test, and when the %BAC test measures 0.00%, the H.G. Task test is used by prosecutors to override it (as are all other so-called sobriety tests).

This is why police departments prefer to not use video tape to record field sobriety tests. The videos usually help citizens much more than police. Defense attorneys can easily discredit an officer in front of a jury, when the jury can judge for themselves that the citizen was able to reasonably perform the coordination tests with little difficulty. It is not uncommon for video tapes to be erased if a citizen requests a copy; a defense lawyer can then submit evidence of police destruction of evidence.

Any cutting or editing of a video tape by police is grounds to have the tape thrown out as inadmissible. Chain of custody of video tapes is critical.

Many states require citizens be advised that they are being recorded on video tape. Even when a citizen is not aware he is being recorded, juries tend to be suspicious of covert government surveilance.

If a video tape is not made, but a witness is present, and the police refuse to allow him to witness the field sobriety test, the results can be thrown out, since the implication is that police are lying.

Unlike the blood-alcohol test, there is no statutory legal requirement to take a field sobriety test, and there is no penalty for refusing to take it (so-called implied consent), such as suspension of drivers' license. There are, however, many illegal reprisals that the government can possibly retaliate with.

The blood-alcohol test is required under the government's so-called implied consent laws, even though a citizen has a legal right to say no to the test. Refusal to submit to the test will result in automatic suspension of the citizen's driver license, for a period of 6 to 12 months (or 10-YEARS if classified as a so-called "repeat offender" -- which a person can be arrested for without being accused of drinking any alcohol). However, a work-only driving license may be then sold, after purchasing expensive "high risk" insurance. The breath-alcohol content test (BAC) is the government's favorite method, since it requires less work on their part. The blood-alcohol test (BAT) is also admissible, but police are not qualified to draw blood, and this must be done at a hospital. This is a key piece of evidence in the government's arsenal. They punish a citizen for refusing, and they try to go for a conviction when he agrees to the test. It is not possible to "pass" the blood-alcohol test, regardless of any score. It is the ultimate "failure designed" test, due to the laws of Prohibition. There are no legal limits. Any allegation of failing any other sobriety test, or admitting to alcohol or medication use, overrules a BAC score to a government under the influence of greed.

This is only possible if someone injected alcohol directly into their veins.

"Rising rate" Widmark curves, which occur during the two hours it takes for alcohol to be absorbed by the intestines, means a person's BAC can be five or even ten-times higher during a police-requested blood test. It is a myth that alcohol enters the bloodstream instantly and then decreases with time. This is the myth of "retrograde extrapolation". Any delay in blood testing assists the government in this fraud, which is more accurately termed "pseudo-retrograde extrapolation". Only by taking two blood samples 30-minutes apart can "scientists" determine whether the driver's blood-alcohol level is rising or falling, yet police NEVER do this fundamental second test.

Certain light beers will cut BAC in half. The government considers beer-alcohol % TOP SECRET. This chart literally proves ALL blood-alcohol tests are worthless for "proving" intoxication.

Arrestees who refuse the voluntary BAC test are forced to spend the night in jail before being allowed a phone call; some states require staying in jail all weekend. This is standard procedure in most jurisdictions. However, in other states, it is legal to refuse a BAC test until an attorney has been called and is present to advise his client. If allowed to phone an attorney, it is wise to answer yes or no questions only, to assure attorney/client privacy (assuming no government eavesdropping on a second line).

Dr. Micheal Hlastala, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Medicine at the University of Washington writes, "Breath testing, as currently used, is a very inaccurate method for measuring BAC." [Hlastala, Physiological Errors Associated with Alcohol Breath Testing, 9(6) The Champion (1985).]

A study by Simpson, "Accuracy and Precision of Breath-Alcohol Measurements for a Random Subject in the Postabsorptive State," 33 (2) "Clinical Chemistry" 261 (1987), determined that breath readings are at least 15% inaccurate compared to blood testing, and at least 23% of people will have a higher breath-alcohol reading than blood-alcohol reading.

In another study, by the toxicology section of Wisconsin's State Laboratory of Hygiene, only 33% of breath tests were the same as the blood tests. [32 (4) Journal of Forensic Sciences 1235 (1987).]

The Intoximeter 3000 is a discontinued unit used by many police departments. Its maufacturer's warrantee is expired, so if the machine broke down, the government must pay to have it fixed. It is an inferior unit that has been replaced. The Intox 3000 does not even test for breath-alcohol. Instead, it checks for methyl molecules using a Taguchi Cell. It is a very complicated chemical test. However, due to the many false readings given by this machine, even if no one blows into it, many police departments simply remove the Taguchi Cell. The manufacturer's operator handbook requires a "standard" setting of 0.099% BAC. When this calibration setting is adjusted, the machine will give an artificially high reading.

State regulations require the test equipment to be recertified every 90 days by the state's Forensic Serivices division, yet most police departments fail to do so. Electromagnetic radiation and second-hand cigarette smoke can contaminate the machine's ability to function.

Breath-alcohol testing machines can display some weird tendencies. People who are dieting or diabetic can get false readings on certain machines. Peridontal disease (gingivitis and osteoporosis (calcium malnutrition)) can give off a false reading (an additional 0.05% BAC), due to bleeding gums. Simply having a common cold can produce a similar affect. Acetone as found in the breath of diebetics, dieters and people with intestinal blockage can also confuse the machine. Wearing dentures affects the score by a factor of ten. Lung disease is of course a factor. Body temperature is important, changing the score by 7% for every one degree.

Candida Albicans yeast, a normal inhabitant throughout the body, produces 1.0 ounces of real alcohol in a person's bloodstream every day, even when no alcohol has been consumed. Fruit, fruit juice and soda pop all contain alcohol since yeast is a normal ingredient. "Auto intoxication" can even occur in severe yeast infections, resulting in actual drunkeness without drinking alcohol. Sick people have been convicted of DWI who do not drink alcohol.

Residual mouth-alcohol has a huge effect on the government's breath testing machines. As mentioned previously, breath sprays and mouthwash can grossly distort the test result, giving a false reading at the level of a fatal overdose. Burping can bring up raw, undigested alcohol from the stomach; this is why the government employee administering the test is supposed to observe the citizen for any sign of burping, waiting at least 15 minutes from the last burp. If he misses a burp (jailors probably don't really pay attention), then the score is defective. Of course, any leftover acoholic beverage in the mouth can give a false blood-alcohol reading. Any bleeding of the gums discharges alcohol directly into the breath, which bypasses the required conversion factor to reduce the percent BAC score.

Breathing into the machine can affect the score, depending upon how it is done. The last part of the breath contains the most alcohol. This is why the machine will not take a reading until a large amount of breath has been expelled. Refusing to breathe hard enough is usually considered to be a refusal to take the test, resulting in suspension of a citizen's driver's license. Holding your breath immediately before the test can give a false score 16% too high. However, hyperventilating can lower the score by up to 11%. Normal mechanical machine error can affect the score by up to 0.007% BAC. Normal mathematical machine error can result in a further 0.050% BAC error, due to ignored biological differences between normal human beings. Radio frequency transmissions from police radios can also alter a machine's score ("keying a microphone" can cheat the machine in the government's favor).

Criminal falsification of test results by police are routine. One attorney discovered his client's alleged 0.22% BAC was the same exact score that 20 other DWI arrestees had been accused of in a row. There is no way this "coincidence" could have been unnoticed by police.

Oftentimes, a government officer will require the citizen to submit to several BAC tests. The government officer might then keep the highest reading and destroy all evidence of the lower readings. Or if all the readings are low, it is perhaps in the government's interest to destroy that evidence ("neglegently misplace" it).

A citizen may request a blood-alcohol test (BAT), rather than a breath-alcohol content test (BAC). Use of an alcohol swab before inserting the needle will give a false BAT result. It is more difficult for the government to keep track of the chain of evidence when blood is drawn at a hospital. There are differences in venous blood and arterial blood, depending on time from the last drink. The hospital will probably require a citizen to sign a waiver of legal liability before drawing blood (of course you can still sue if something goes very wrong). However, refusal to sign the waiver, and the hospital's refusal to draw blood, might not result in suspension of a driver's license. Doctor/patient privacy on the test results would only apply to a second test taken after discharge from jail. This, however, would possibly have to be determined by the lawyers fighting it out in court, and the citizen might have to spend the night in jail, and lose his license in the mean time.

Alcohol in a blood sample, like wine in a bottle, can ferment (spoil or rot). This can increase the blood-alcohol percentage reading before reaching a crime laboratory, which might take several weeks.

As for testing the blood-alcohol of persons injured in car crashes, any internal injury can destroy the accuracy of the test. This is because stomach and intestinal alcohol mixes with blood due to ruptured organs (which can be ruptured simply by wearing a seat belt without any other injury). Dead bodies must have blood-alcohol tested from the heart, yet very few crash victims are tested this way. This lack of accurate blood-alcohol testing destroys the credibility of all the government's alleged figures in its drunk-driving statistics.

These are the methods used by the government to allegedly judge both a citizen's sobriety and ability to drive a vehicle, modified by the possibility for financial gain for the police officer, prosecutor, judge and other bureaucrats. What if a citizen offended the police officer in some unknown manner; is he really going to grade his subjective test results the same as for someone he likes? How confident do you feel that you could pass the government's so-called tests? Why does the news media not warn the public about the impossibility of passing these government tests?

DEEP THOUGHTS

A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.
--Proverbs 14:15 (Recovery Devotional Bible)

He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself from calamity.
--Proverbs 21:23 (Recovery Devotional Bible)

JOKE OF THE DAY

A juggler, driving to his next performance, was stopped by the police. "What are those knives doing in your car?" asked the officer. "I juggle them in my act." "Oh yeah?" says the cop. "Let's see you do it." So the juggler starts tossing and juggling his knives. A guy driving by sees this and says, "Wow, am I glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they're making you do now!"