DUI

You are required by state law to submit to a PAS or other chemical test to determine the alcohol and/or drug content of your blood. Becuase I believe you are under the influence of alcohol, you have a choice of taking a breath or blood test. If you refuse to submit to, or fail to complete a test, your driving privilege will be suspended for one year or revoked for two or three years. Refusal or failure to complete a test may be used against you in court. Refusal or failure to complete a test will also result in a fine and imprisonment if this arrest results in a conviction of driving under the influence. You do not have a right to talk to an attorney or have an attorney present before stating whether you will submit to a test, before deciding which test to take, or during the test.

You are obligated by law to submit to a PAS test.

I am requesting that you take a preliminary alcohol screening test to further assist me in determining whether you are under the influence of alcohol. You may refuse to take this test; however, this is not an implied consent test and if arrested, you will be required to give a sample of your blood or breath, for the purpose of determining the actual alcoholic and drug content of your blood.

A "bouncing" eye motion that is displayed in two ways:

• (1) pendular nystagmus, where the eye oscillates equally in two directions
• (2) jerk nystagmus, where the eye moves slowly away from a fixation point and then is rapidly corrected through a "saccadic" or fast movement.

A type of jerk nystagmus with the saccadic movement toward the direction of the gaze. An eye normally moves smoothly like a marble rolling over a glass plane, whereas an eye with jerk nystagmus moves like a marble rolling across sandpaper.

Most types of nystagmus, including HGN, are involuntary motions, meaning the person exhibiting the nystagmus cannot control it. In fact, the subject exhibiting the nystagmus is unaware that it is happening because the bouncing of the eye does not affect the subject's vision.

A rapid intermittent eye movement, as that which occurs when the eyes fix on one point after another in the visual field.

Gaze nystagmus is a type of jerk nystagmus where the eye gazing upon or following an object begins to lag and has to correct itself with a saccadic movement toward the direction in which the eye is moving or gazing. Gaze nystagmus is due to disruptions within the nervous system. Alcohol gaze nystagmus (AGN) is gaze nystagmus caused by alcohol. AGN occurs as the eye moves from looking straight ahead (called resting nystagmus), to the side (called HGN), or up (called vertical nystagmus or VGN).

Positional nystagmus occurs when a foreign fluid, such as alcohol, is in unequal concentrations in the blood and the fluid contained in semi-circular canals in the vestibular (inner ear) system. The vestibular system controls a person's balance, coordination and orientation. The eyes depend on the vestibular system to stabilize them against any head movements. Disruptions in the vestibular system will have an adverse effect on the messages sent to the eyes when the head moves. Positional nystagmus manifests itself as jerk nystagmus in which the direction of the saccadic movement depends on head movement. Positional alcohol nystagmus (PAN) occurs when alcohol is the foreign fluid.

In PAN I, the alcohol concentration is higher in the blood than in the vestibular system fluid and occurs when a person's blood alcohol content (BAC) is increasing.

In PAN II, the alcohol concentration is lower in the blood than in the vestibular system fluid and occurs when a person's BAC is decreasing.Nausea, dizziness, vertigo and vomiting accompany PAN I and PAN II, which indicate high doses of alcohol. High intensity PAN is evident when a subject's eyes are open, but open eyes block lower intensity PAN. As a result, PAN is most easily recorded when the subject is lying down, head to the side with the eyes closed.

• The officer must administer the test in a way
• that ensures that the subject's eyes can be seen clearly, i.e., in a
• well lit area or by use of a flashlight
• to illuminate the subject's face. The subject should not face toward the
• blinking lights of a police
• cruiser or passing cars, which may cause optokinetic
• nystagmus.39 The subject does not have to be
• standing but can be sitting down. The law enforcement officer informs
• the subject "I am now going to
• check your eyes." The officer is not "testing" the subject's vision, as
• an ophthalmologist or
• optometrist would, but instead, the officer is "checking" the eyes for
• the physical manifestation of HGN.
• Before checking the subject's eyes, the officer asks the
• subject to remove eyeglasses
• or inquires whether the subject is wearing hard or soft contact lenses.
• While the removal of the
• eyeglasses makes it easier for the officer to observe eye movement,
• glasses do not effect the HGN
• test results. Early concerns that contact lenses, especially hard
• contact lenses, may affect the HGN
• test result led some to provide for the subject to remove the lenses.40
• However, contact lenses, hard or soft, do not affect the test in any
• way. While hard contact lenses may pop out when the eye moves
• as far to the side as it will go, officers are not taught to have
• subjects remove contact lenses.41 However, officers are
• taught to note whether the subject is wearing contacts and which type on
• the HGN
• Guide (shown on page 13).
• The officer also asks the subject whether he or she has any
• medical impairment that
• would either prohibit the subject from taking the test or that would
• affect the test results. The officer
• should note on the HGN Guide any condition that prohibits the taking of
• the test and then move on to
• the remaining SFSTs. If the subject claims to have a natural nystagmus
• or any other condition that
• may affect the test result, but does not prohibit the taking of the HGN
• test, the officer should note
• the condition but still perform the test.
• The subject does not have to see the object clearly to perform the
• HGN test. The subject just has
• to see the object well enough to be able to follow it with his eyes.
• Blurry vision is not a medical
• condition that prohibits the subject from taking the test or performing
• satisfactorily.

• The HGN test requires only an object for subjects to follow with
• their eyes, such as a pen
• or the tip of a penlight.42 The officer places the object
• approximately twelve to fifteen inches from
• the subject's face and slightly higher than eye
• level.43 Placing the object above eye level opens
• the subject's eyes further and makes their movement easier to observe.
• (See Appendix B, Picture 1.)
• The officer instructs the subject to follow the object with the
• eyes and the eyes only ­
• the head should remain still. If subjects have difficulty keeping their
• head still during the test, the
• officer is taught to have subjects hold their own head still by pressing
• the palms of their hands to
• their cheeks or to hold their own chin. The officer should try to avoid
• holding the subject's chin or using
• a flashlight as a chin rest because it brings the officer into contact
• with the subject and
• compromises officer safety. The officer then asks if the subject
• understands all the instructions.
• After positioning the object, but before conducting the test, the
• officer checks for signs
• of medical impairment. First, the officer checks for "equal tracking" by
• moving the object
• quickly across the subject's entire field of vision to see whether the
• eyes follow the object
• simultaneously. The officer then checks for equal pupil size. Lack of
• equal tracking or equal pupil size may
• indicate blindness in one eye, a glass eye, a medical disorder or an
• injury. If the subject exhibits these
• characteristics, the officer should discontinue the HGN test and may
• need to seek medical assistance for
• the individual if a medical disorder or injury appears to exist.