5 Myths About Field Sobriety Tests in Tennessee

Field sobriety tests are among the most misunderstood parts of a Tennessee DUI stop. What people believe these roadside exercises prove, and what Tennessee law actually does with them, are often two very different things. Here are five common beliefs about field sobriety tests in Tennessee, and what the law really says.

Myth 1: You have to do the roadside sobriety tests, and turning them down is a crime.

Tennessee law does not require you to perform the roadside sobriety tests, and declining them is not a crime. The walking, balancing, and eye-tracking exercises an officer asks for at the roadside carry no legal duty and no penalty for saying no. What surprises people is that the same is true, in its own way, of the breath or blood test after an arrest: refusing that one is not a crime either, though it does cost you your license, which a court will order lost for a year or longer in the worst cases. Because the refusal is written up on separate paper and handled by the same judge, it can look like a second crime. Saying no does not make the stop, an arrest, or a possible warrant go away.

Myth 2: If you pass the field sobriety tests, the officer cannot arrest you.

Performing well on the roadside tests does not mean you will not be arrested. Tennessee law does not treat them as something you can pass your way out of — it sets no scoring system and no line at which a driver officially passes. An officer decides whether to arrest by weighing everything: how you were driving, whether he smells alcohol, what you said about drinking, how you look and speak. Our highest court has held that good performance can keep suspicion from hardening into grounds for arrest, but it cannot cancel out grounds the officer already had before the tests began — and in the ordinary stop those grounds are complete before you step out of the car. A strong performance still counts, but as evidence at trial, not a guarantee at the roadside.

Myth 3: The tests measure balance, so being naturally clumsy will not help you.

Being naturally clumsy can matter, because the roadside exercises are not the offense and are not simply tests of balance. Much of what an officer marks against a driver has nothing to do with balance: starting before being told to, turning the wrong way, missing heel-to-toe, forgetting letters or numbers, or an involuntary movement of the eyes. What the state must prove is that an intoxicant robbed you of the clear mind and self-control you would otherwise have, and evidence that an injury explains a poor performance speaks directly to that. Do not mistake this for a magic word. It is not a formal defense, it shifts nothing to the state, a jury may reject it, and it does nothing against a breath or blood result. Raise it at the time, and tell your lawyer.

Myth 4: Medical conditions and injuries make no difference to the tests.

A medical condition or injury does make a difference here — just not the difference most people assume. Tennessee sets no official score for these roadside tasks, so there is nothing a bad back or a rebuilt knee legally forces an officer to subtract. What matters is that, apart from the eye test, these tasks count as ordinary observations a judge or jury weighs — which is why evidence that pain, dizziness, or a balance problem explains the stumbling is allowed in and considered. But hear the hard part: Tennessee drivers have raised a bad knee, brought in medical records, even hired experts, and still lost, because a jury is free to decide against them. A health explanation only touches the roadside tests, and only if you actually prove it.

Myth 5: The officer's opinion of how you did is the objective record.

An officer's roadside call on how you performed is testimony, not a measurement — and it is not the record. In Tennessee it enters a case the way any witness's account does: the officer takes the stand, describes what he says he saw, and is cross-examined, and then a judge or jury decides what it is worth. Our highest court has been clear that what the officer personally believed about you is not the legal test; the facts he can point to are. But do not assume a camera settles everything — no law here requires a stop to be recorded, and many cases turn on testimony alone. The officer's account is contestable evidence, not a fixed finding. Questioning it well and early, while any recording exists, is the work of a lawyer.

About the Author

David G. Ridings is a Nashville criminal defense attorney, former police officer, and former prosecutor with nearly 40 years of experience in the Tennessee justice system. Known as “DrJudge,” he educates hundreds of thousands about their rights during police encounters.

Call to Action

If you were arrested after a field sobriety test in Tennessee, what happened at the roadside is only the beginning of your case — and much of it can be questioned by a lawyer who knows where to look. Don't talk your way into trouble by explaining or arguing at the scene. Call the Ridings Law Group at 1-888-DRJUDGE to discuss your rights and the road ahead.

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