The DUI Eye Testing a.k.a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

 

The DUI eye test is not used against DUI suspects in every State and it is also not administered every time. In fact, usually the police officer might require extra training to administer this test against the drivers being investigated of DUI.

 

So if you are wondering what you should know about the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, the answer is everything, but only to be on the safe side. You are not required by the law to take the test and even if refusing to take the test leads to your arrest, then be it so. This is because even if you take the test, then it is likely that, like other field tests, you may accidentally fail this one and have the results used against you in court.

 

Basically the purpose of the DUI eye test is to investigate the functioning of the eye and its ability to follow objects at different angles. So why is this test administered in some States of the country and not in others?

 

People who are driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are not able to follow objects smoothly with their eyes and instead, these people will display an involuntary jerking movement in their eyes which is a signal of imbalances in their body. ‘Nystagmus’ in the name of the test above means the jerking movement and once detected, the police officers will definitely arrest you, even if the jerking is happening for other reasons. People with neurological disorders, brain tumors, head injuries and people taking certain kinds of medications are all candidates for displaying this jerking movement in their eyes.

 

However, a number of DUI lawyers and attorneys will argue that a number of people will be unable to pass the DUI eye test basically because there are multiple reasons for the jerking movement in the eyes. These may include measles, problems with inner ear labyrinth, influenza, vertigo, epilepsy, hypertension, motion sickness, eye strain, eye muscle fatigue, aspirin, diet, toxins, extreme chilling, lesions, eye muscle imbalances etc. This is why many of the DUI attorneys will discourage you to take the test since any one of the above reasons or more could be why you fail the test and the results might be used to prove you were drunk above legal limit when you probably were not.

 

What usually happens in the DUI eye test is that the officer will ask you to follow an object or a stimulus with your eyes. A stimulus could be a pen, a finger or even a stick with a source of light on top of it. As the officer asks you to follow the object with your eye, he or she will keep on moving the object horizontally and at different angles, hence the name Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. Compliance with the administration of the test requires that the officer does not ask you to move your head and only your eyes to follow the object.

 

This is why the DUI eye test is a pretty complicated and scientific test and therefore, needs to be understood properly before you agree or refuse to take it.