Conducting FSTs (field sobriety tests) is a technique law enforcement uses in Moreno Valley to establish whether someone has been operating a vehicle while intoxicated with alcohol. The outcome of these tests influences a police officer’s decision to conduct more tests, for example, the breathalyzer test, or to go ahead and arrest the person for DUI.

If you fail these tests, the police will highly likely arrest you for DUI. However, do not despair; you can seek help from a Moreno Valley bail bonds agency to secure your release pending your court trial. At Fausto Bail Bonds, we help people secure jail releases. However, in most cases, the ideal way to secure a person's jail release is to prevent them from being arrested, to begin with, and this entails arming every citizen with the knowledge necessary to avoid arrest and on how to interact with law enforcement officers who might suspect them of criminal activity.

Understanding what to anticipate during an FST and the coordination tests administered to DUI suspects might assist in keeping you calm amid a stressful and overwhelming situation, and if you are sober, prevail in the tests greatly.

What FSTs Entail

Several FSTs in California are commonly used during drunk-driving investigations. The tests have been developed and approved by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and are broadly accepted by police agencies. These tests can be classified into four typical categories: coordination tests, balance tests, eye tests, and mental agility tests. The most prevalent FSTs administered in California are:

  • The HGN (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus) test,
  • The OLS (one-leg stand) test
  • The finger-to-nose test
  • The WAT (walk and turn) test

All these tests assess different elements of a motorist's cognitive and physical abilities, helping law enforcement assess impairment.

  • Finger-to-nose test—this is the most identifiable DUI test. In this test, the officer instructs the motorist to close their eyes and touch their nose tip with the fingertip, alternating one hand and the other. The officer assesses the motorist's coordination and accuracy during the test. They also assess the driver’s capability to obey instructions. Muscle twitching, tremors, and swaying might not indicate intoxication.
  • One-leg stand test—during this test, the officer asks the motorist to stand on one leg, usually with their leg fairly raised, as they count loudly for a given period (usually for a maximum of twenty seconds). The officer assesses the motorist's coordination, balance, and capability to obey instructions. When an officer tells a motorist to count loudly, statements like “I could not do that even when sober” from the driver might be considered an admission of guilt (because the driver is implying they are unsober).
  • Walk and turn test—during this test, the officer instructs the motorist to walk fifteen to twenty feet, heel to toe, along a straight line, turn around, and go back the same distance. The officer evaluates the motorist's capability to follow directions, walk in a straight line, maintain balance without falling out of the line, and finish the test without starting over or stopping. You will have failed the test if you stop, start over, sway, or lift one or both arms.
  • The HGN test—evaluates a motorist's eye movements while tracking a stimulus, like a flashlight or pen, from one side to the other. A police officer observes the eye's nystagmus, otherwise called involuntary jerking, which could be more noticeable when a person is intoxicated with alcohol or drugs.
  • The Rhomberg balance test—during this test, the officer will require you to tilt your head back slightly, close your eyes, and approximate the passage of thirty seconds. The police officer will observe six clues regarding your intoxication: body or eyelid tremors, if any; the degree of swaying; the ability to approximate thirty seconds; the statements or sounds you produce during the test; your capability to follow instructions; and muscle tone.
  • The finger count test—during this test, the police officer will instruct you to place one of your hands before you with the extended palm facing upwards, have the top of your thumb separately touch the tip of your little, ring, middle, and index finger, and count one to four loudly in relation to every thumb-finger connection. When done, the officer will ask you to repeat the process in reverse, completing three complete sets. In this test, the officer looks at five clues to establish if you are drunk: the capability to obey instructions, count correctly, touch every finger distinctly and in the proper sequence, begin and end the test when told, and your performance of the right number of complete sets.
  • Taking a breathalyzer test—a breathalyzer is the most reliable DUI test as it measures the driver's BAC (blood alcohol concentration). It instantly and accurately determines how much a motorist has had to drink depending on the amount of their breath. In California, 0.08% is the basis for arrest on DUI suspicion, and declining to undergo the test after arrest is the basis for immediate driver's license suspension.

Most people ask whether there is a way to pass the FSTs. The simple fact is there is not. The only exception to this rule is “Do not drive while drunk.” It will be very simple to pass FSTs if you have not drunk any alcohol.

As you may already know, the police officer administering FSTs may arrest you for DUI if you fail them, which is not uncommon. Several factors may lead you to fail these tests. For example, adverse weather and field conditions may make performing FSTs challenging. Police officers are supposed to set particular conditions suitable for carrying out the tests. However, that is not always the case. The NHTSA necessitates that FSTs be conducted under safe and appropriate test conditions.

Do not worry if you are arrested for failing a field sobriety test. Once you are arrested, further tests may prove that you are innocent and will be released. And even if you are charged for driving while intoxicated, you still do not have to worry. California allows posting bail for DUI arrestees, and it is not so challenging to have a Moreno Valley bail bonds service like Fausto Bail Bonds post a surety bond to secure your release if you fail FSTs and find yourself in local jail.

How a Moreno Valley Bail Bonds Service Can Help You If You Fail FSTs

Once you have been arrested for failing FSTs, the police officer will take you to a hospital, jail, or police station for a blood or breath test (chemical testing) to determine your BAC level. If you undergo breath testing, the results come out immediately. You might need to wait a few days for the blood test results.

If your BAC is .08% or more, the prosecution will charge you with driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher. Should you refuse to undergo these tests, the prosecution will add a refusal accusation to your DUI charges. This accusation carries an additional 12-month driver’s license suspension and a county jail sentence of two days, even if the jury does not find you guilty of the underlying DUI charges.

Once you have completed your tests, you will often undergo the booking process and then be released. Based on the seriousness of your case and your criminal record, you can either be set free on bail or a written promise to attend court. The arresting officer will then file a police report. The prosecution will then review your case and determine whether or not to file formal DUI charges against you.

When the authorities give you the option of securing your release by posting bail, you can pay the bail using cash from your pocket, a friend, a family member, or property, or a surety or bail bond. Paying bail with cash is called cash bail. It entails paying the total bail amount in cash to the facility holding you before you are released. Once your case is resolved, the money is returned to you or the person who paid it.

Paying bail using property is known as a property bond. It involves giving the court or the jail facility a valuable property to hold on to in exchange for your release and promise to attend court. The property will be returned to you once the case is over. Posting a surety bond entails contacting a Moreno Valley bail bonds service to help you with the jail release process.

Even though posting bail using cash is the fastest way of securing a jail release, it is not an option for many people. That is because bail is usually set at a higher amount, and only a few people can raise the required amount in the shortest time possible.

For a property bond, the court requires that the property value be twice the bail amount. The property bond process is also time-consuming. The court must appraise the property to determine whether it meets the required value, which will take a long time. Hence, so few people choose this option in Moreno Valley. For many, Moreno Valley bail bonds are the most convenient way to post bail for money.

How Moreno Valley Bail Bonds Work

A surety bond can come in handy if you cannot afford cash or have no property to post your DUI bail. If the authorities require you to post bail, you can contact a Moreno Valley bail bonds service to start processing a bond for you. A bondsman will ask you a few questions regarding you and your arrest, and the bond process will have officially begun.

The bondsman will draw up a bail contract and application using the information you would have provided. These are not long documents, and you can complete them via email or fax if you cannot meet the bondsman in person. Alternatively, you can ask someone else to deal with the bondsman on your behalf. That person will be known as a co-signer.

The bondsman will also ask you to pay some charges before securing the bond. Generally, a bail bond in California costs ten percent of the total bail amount. Thus, if your bail amount is fifty thousand U.S. dollars, the bondsman will need you to pay five thousand U.S. dollars before they can post bail for you. This charge is known as the premium, and it is non-refundable.

Apart from the premium, some Moreno Valley bail bonds request processing fees, administrative charges, et cetera. Ask your bail bondsman whether they need you to pay more charges apart from the premium.

After you have filled out the paperwork and made the necessary payment, the bondsman will go to jail, where you are to pay the bond. Bail can be posted around the clock. Therefore, regardless of when you start the bond process, you will not need to wait for the business hours of the jail facility to secure your release. It will take thirty minutes to twelve hours for you to be set free once the bondsman has posted the bond based on how busy the jail facility is, the staff, and the circumstances surrounding your case.

Find a Reliable Moreno Valley Bail Bonds Service Near Me

Have you been arrested for DUI in Moreno Valley after failing field sobriety tests? Do not worry. A Moreno Valley bail bonds service can help you secure your release before trial so you can prove your innocence. Field sobriety tests are not 100 percent correct as an indication of DUI, and you can register poor results even if you are sober due to various factors, such as weather and field conditions.

At Fusto Bail Bonds, we are here to give you all the support you need to prove your innocence. We will help ensure you have ample time to gather evidence and prepare for your trial by helping you post bail. We boast Moreno Valley's quickest, most efficient, and most reliable bondsmen. They will work on processing your bond to ensure you are out of jail within the shortest time possible. Moreover, our bonds are affordable, and we offer flexible payment options. Call us at 855-328-7867 to kick off the process.