North Carolina DWI

The “DUI eye test” refers to the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, or “HGN.” It is one of the three “verified” Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) recognized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), along with the walk-and-turn and the one-leg stand.

HGN is a “sobriety test” where an officer holds a stimulus, usually a pen, a fingertip, or a small flashlight, in front of the suspect’s face and asks the driver to follow it with their eyes without moving their head. The officer is watching for an involuntary jerking or twitching of the eyes. Some officers describe it as looking like windshield wipers going back and forth on a dry windshield. That jerking motion is referred to as a nystagmus and it is purportedly an indicator of appreciable impairment by alcohol and possibly other substances.

The test sounds simple. The science behind it is not. Whether HGN is actually a reliable indicator of impairment in any given case is a separate question. Even when scientifically reliable, the accuracy and reliability of field sobriety testing largely depend on the training, experience, and objectivity of the charging officer. That matters when the test results are summarized in a police report, described on the witness stand, or used to support probable cause for arrest under North Carolina’s impaired driving statute, N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1.

A DWI arrest in Hatteras can feel different from a charge in a larger city, even though North Carolina’s impaired driving law applies statewide. Hatteras is not just another dot on a map. Hatteras Village sits near the southwestern end of Hatteras Island, connected to the rest of the Outer Banks by NC 12 and to Ocracoke by the Hatteras Inlet Ferry.

That geography can matter after an arrest. It can affect how the officer describes the roadside encounter, how field sobriety tests were performed, how body camera footage looks, how quickly family members can respond, and how difficult it may be for someone to return to court.

Just because someone is arrested on the Outer Banks, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, that does not change the elements of the charge. North Carolina’s impaired driving statute, N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1, applies when the State alleges that the defendant drove a vehicle on a highway, street, or public vehicular area while under the influence of an impairing substance, after consuming enough alcohol to have an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more at a relevant time after driving, or with any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance or metabolite in blood or urine.

Articles Tagged with North Carolina DWI

The DUI Eye Test (HGN) | What It Measures and How Reliable It Really Is

Hatteras DWI Charges | 5 Things to Know After an Arrest