North Carolina DWI

The One Leg Stand Test | What Drivers Should Know About SFST

June 3, 2026 | by Danny Glover

The One Leg Stand, or “OLS,” is one of three “verified” Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) recognized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), alongside the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus and the Walk-and-Turn test. If pulled over on suspicion of impaired driving on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, there’s a reasonable chance the charging officer requested the suspect to submit to the One Leg Stand test.

The One-Leg Stand is a type of divided-attention test. The officer instructs a driver to stand on one leg, raise the other approximately six inches off the ground, keep the raised leg straight, point the toe of the raised foot, and count aloud until told to stop. Training materials direct the investigating officer to time the driver for 30 seconds. That sounds relatively straightforward. Like other field sobriety tests, however, the administration, interpretation, and reliability of the One Leg Stand can be far more complicated than the basic instructions suggest.

Whether the One Leg Stand is actually a reliable indicator of impairment depends on officer training, adherence to proper procedures and protocols, roadside conditions, and the individual being tested. SFST results are regularly used as evidence in DWI prosecutions. They support arrest decisions and the determination of probable cause to arrest. They get presented to judges and juries. In North Carolina, courts apply N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1 to evaluate impaired driving charges, and the use of OLS evidence in that process can make or break a case.

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

May 16, 2026 | by Danny Glover

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.

Hatteras DWI Charges | 5 Things to Know After an Arrest

May 7, 2026 | by Danny Glover

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.