Virginia Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test

If you have recently been arrested for driving under the influence in Virginia, you were probably asked to take a few field sobriety tests by the police officer. These field sobriety tests are used to determine whether a DUI arrest should be made.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has approved three standardized field sobriety tests: the walk-and-turn, the one-leg stand, and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test.

Horizontal gaze nystagmus is basically the involuntary jerking of your eyes. Nystagmus typically occurs when you look to the side as far as you can. However, if a person is intoxicated, nystagmus will occur before your eyes reach a high peripheral angle. The jerking will also appear more pronounced after the consumption of alcohol.

To administer this test, the police officer will ask you to follow a small object, such as a flashlight, with your eyes without moving your head. During this test, the officer is looking for several things: inability to smoothly follow the object, jerking of the eyes that starts before a 45 degree angle, and jerking of the eyes that occurs at the maximum deviation. The officer is watching for these three signs in each eyes, for a total of six signs. If he notices four or more factors, you fail the horizontal gaze nystagmus test.

While this test is considered the most scientific of all three field sobriety tests, it is far from perfect. Nystagmus can have hundreds of causes other than alcohol consumption. Vision problems, tumors, neurological problems and other issues may result in nystagmus.

If you have taken the horizontal gaze nystagmus test and failed, there is still hope. Officers routinely perform the test incorrectly.