Georgia HGN Test
Police officers receive months of training and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) is part of their curriculum. This road-side field sobriety test is meant to help police officers determine whether or not a person is under the influence of alcohol while driving a motor vehicle. Nystagmus is an involuntary jerking of the eyes, which can be caused by alcohol consumption. However, some people suffer from a natural nystagmus. Part of their training includes a specific protocol that they must follow when administering a field sobriety test. If an officer even misses one step or makes one mistake (which is more than easy to do given the amount of steps they must follow) this can affect your HGN test results.
First, the officer will ask you to step out of the car to perform this field sobriety test. Before the officer can ask you to perform the test, they must ask you certain questions. If you have a glass eye or vision in only one eye, you cannot perform the HGN. Next, the officer will ask you to remove your hard contact lenses. If you take the HGN test with your hard contacts in, this can cause eye damage or the contact lens may dislodge when you’re looking out at maximum deviation. If you wear glasses, the officer must instruct you to remove them. If you cannot see the stimulus (the object that the officer wants you to follow with your eyes) then you must keep your glasses on during the test.
If you are cleared to take the test, the officer must hold the stimulus (usually a lighted pen) at a distance of 12 to 15 inches away from your eyes, above eye level. Before beginning the test, the officer must ask you if the stimulus is at a comfortable distance for you to be able to focus on the object. The officer must also ensure that your test is not affected by wind, dust, flashing lights or passing vehicles that may distract your ability to follow the object with your eyes.
If you were given the HGN test and were arrested for DUI, immediately contact a qualified DUI defense attorney at the HTW&W Law Office. Your attorney will go over the facts of your test to ensure that all precautions were taken and that you did not falsely fail this field sobriety test.
