Non-Standardized Field Sobriety Tests in Ohio (Finger Dexterity)

The tests that fall outside the standardized battery in our field sobriety guide.

Ohio has adopted three standardized field sobriety tests, but officers often ask drivers to perform other “tests” that are not part of that battery and are not scientifically validated. The most common is the finger dexterity test, along with the alphabet test, counting tests, and the finger-to-nose test. Because these non-standardized tests are not recognized by NHTSA and have no standardized scoring, they can and should be challenged. Call (937) 318-1384 for a free consultation.

The Three Standardized Tests, and Everything Else

Ohio has adopted the three-test field sobriety protocol set forth in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) manual. The three tests adopted by NHTSA all survived scientific scrutiny as being indicative of impairment: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk and turn test, and the one-leg-stand test. The officer is trained to administer these in a standardized fashion and record “clues” of impairment.

Often, though, you will encounter a circumstance where the officer employs a non-standardized field sobriety test. These are nonscientific techniques, some of which are described in the NHTSA manual, and they can include a finger dexterity test, an alphabet test, a counting test, or some other form of confusing coordination test. Some jurisdictions still employ a thoroughly discredited test that requires the subject to tilt their head back and touch the tip of a finger to the tip of the nose.

Compare the validation behind the standardized eye test.

When Non-Standardized Tests Can and Cannot Be Used

The first step in challenging an officer’s decision to use non-standardized tests is to determine why the officer used them. Ohio has set forth eleven factors that courts consider in deciding whether an officer had a reasonable and articulable suspicion of drunk driving sufficient to ask a suspect to step from the car. See State v. Evans. It is appropriate under the NHTSA manual to employ these techniques at that phase of the investigation, and a skilled DUI attorney will use cross examination to establish that there were omissions in the investigation, or that the officer lacked the legal standard necessary to ask you to step from the car.

If, however, the officer is using these tests to establish probable cause for an OVI arrest, he or she is on faulty scientific footing. These tests can be challenged as not probative of intoxication and irrelevant to determining impairment. At least one case, Rocky River v. Horvath (2002), held that non-standardized tests are improper because they have no standardized application and have not been approved by NHTSA. Other Ohio courts have gone the other way: the Second District has ruled that non-standardized tests can come in under the totality of the circumstances for a probable cause determination (State v. Rajehel, 2003-Ohio-3975), and the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the tests may be used as lay evidence of intoxication (Brooklyn Hts. v. Yee, 2009-Ohio-4552). Because the law is not uniform, how these tests are handled depends heavily on the facts and the argument.

The Finger Dexterity Test

One such test is the finger dexterity test. While not part of the three-test Standardized Field Sobriety Test battery, it is prescribed by officer training as a tool to help decide whether the officer is justified in continuing to detain a driver. The test is not scientifically validated to demonstrate impairment, but Ohio police officers use it anyway, and the non-standardized tests are allowed into evidence despite their lack of correlation to impairment. The finger dexterity test is not a Standardized Field Sobriety Test, it has not been recognized by NHTSA, and it is arbitrary and of little value. Even so, it is a favorite among Ohio law enforcement officers. Try it yourself: I have administered this test on countless individuals who had consumed zero intoxicants, and most fail.

How the Finger Dexterity Test Is Conducted

• The suspect must select which hand they will use for the test.
• The suspect is instructed to touch the thumb of that hand to each fingertip, starting with the index finger and moving toward the pinky.
• The suspect must count out loud each time the thumb touches a finger, for example “1, 2, 3, 4.”
• As soon as the suspect touches the pinky and counts “4,” the suspect must immediately execute the test in reverse.
• The thumb must touch the pinky fingertip a second time and work backward to the index finger.
• The suspect must count backward, “4, 3, 2, 1.”
• The suspect must perform this routine three times.

That Sounds Easy, Right?

The officer is watching to see whether you cannot count in the proper sequential order, and whether you do not strike the thumb tip with the tip of the target finger. The contact area between the thumb tip and the fingertip is subjective. Worse, the officer is often not on camera when conducting this test, so no one can question his or her observations. Couple that with confirmation bias, since the officer is already looking for evidence of intoxication, and your chance of “passing” this test in the eyes of an officer investigating you for OVI is slim.

Why Trust Charles M. Rowland II

Charles M. Rowland II has established himself as a top OVI attorney in Ohio and the Dayton area and beyond. He lives by the motto, “Work hard, play by the rules, and never quit!” Preparation, dedication and perseverance are his touchstones. He will vigorously fight for you and will genuinely care about the outcome of your case. He wants the most favorable outcome including acquittals, dismissed charges, or advantageous reduced charges.

He completed the same NHTSA standardized field sobriety testing course that police officers attend and later became an instructor, qualified to teach officers how to administer and evaluate the field tests. He has been a “Super Lawyer” since 2013, a Fellow to the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 for Criminal Defense, a Dayton Bar Association Foundation Fellow, and has appeared in Time and Car & Driver Magazine for OVI defense. He is a lecturer on OVI defense to police agencies, attorneys, judges, and students, and he taught OVI trial practice at the Greene County Peace Officer Training Academy for over fifteen years.

Charlie is a member of the Dayton Bar Association, the Dayton Bar Foundation (2022 Foundation Fellow), the Greene County Bar Association (past President), the Clark County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Foundation (2005 Foundation Fellow), the American Bar Association, and the American Bar Foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions about non-standardized field sobriety tests

Free Consultation

If an officer asked you to perform a finger dexterity test or another non-standardized test during an OVI stop in the Dayton area, call Charles M. Rowland II at (937) 318-1384 for a free consultation.