Field Sobriety Tests in Georgia: What the Officer Is Actually Scoring

By Ben Sessions on September 9th, 2026 in DUI / DWI

The roadside tests in a Georgia DUI stop are not a general assessment of coordination. Three of them are standardized evaluations developed under federal research protocols, with specific administrative procedures and specific scoring criteria.

They are also voluntary in Georgia. You are not required to perform them.

Horizontal gaze nystagmus

The officer moves a stimulus across your field of vision and watches your eyes for involuntary jerking. There are six possible clues, three per eye.

The procedure is precise. The stimulus must be held at a specified distance and moved at a specified speed, and each pass must take a minimum amount of time. Officers frequently move too fast. Nystagmus also has causes unrelated to alcohol, including certain medications, head injury, and neurological conditions.

Walk and turn

Nine heel-to-toe steps along a line, a specific turn, nine steps back, while counting aloud. Eight clues, and two are scored during the instruction phase — before you take a step. Losing balance while listening counts against you.

The test presumes a reasonably level, well-lit surface. The shoulder of a road at night, on a slope, in traffic, is not that.

One leg stand

One foot raised roughly six inches, counting aloud for thirty seconds. Four clues. Research validating the test acknowledged that age, weight, and certain physical conditions materially affect performance.

The tests that are not standardized

Reciting the alphabet, counting backward, finger to nose, and similar exercises have no validated scoring criteria. They are subjective, and an officer’s characterization of your performance is opinion rather than measurement.

Why administration matters

These tests were validated under specific conditions. When the procedure deviates, the correlation the research established weakens. That is the practical basis for challenging the results — not that the officer was dishonest, but that what was administered was not the validated test.

Whether the encounter was recorded, and what the recording actually shows, often matters more than what appears in the report.

If you have been arrested

Remember the 30-day deadline to protect your license, which runs separately from your court date. Ben Sessions is board certified in DUI defense by the National College for DUI Defense and has trained judges through the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education.