Investigation of DUI Cases: Non-Standardized FST Finger Count
The “Finger Count” is a non-standardized field sobriety test (FST), not supported by scientific data in determining a blood alcohol count (BAC) above the legal limit.
Non-standardized FST’s do not have a formal scoring method supported by scientific data, whereby a subject will be determined to pass or fail if they miss a certain number of cues.
Method
The Finger Count is a coordination test which requires the subject to hold either hand palm-side up. The subject is instructed to touch the thumb of one hand to the little finger of the same hand, then to each of the remaining fingers until the little finger is reached again. The subject is instructed to count out loud as follows: “4, 3, 2, 1…1, 2, 3, 4.” The subject is required to repeat this procedure for 3 complete sets.
Clues
1) Subject starts too soon 2) Subject does not follow instructions 3) Subject does not count as instructed 4) Subject does not touch the fingers as instructed 5) Subject stops test Scoring
Because this test is non-standardized, there is no scientifically-backed scoring system to accurately determine how many clues it takes to “fail” this test. Therefore, whether or not the subject passes or fails is subjective to the officer administering the test and not reliable. By: DARREN KAVINOKY