The procedures outlined in this manual describe how the Standardized Field
Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) are to be administered under ideal conditions. We recognize
that the SFSTs will not always be administered under ideal conditions in the field,
because such conditions will not always exist. Even when administered under less
than ideal conditions, they will generally serve as valid and useful indicators of
impairment. Slight variations from the ideal, i.e., the inability to find a perfectly
smooth surface at roadside, may have some affect on the evidentiary weight given to
the results. However, this does not necessarily make the SFSTs invalid.
NOTE: After Homan, how many of us use the deviations in the applications of the test to go at the evidentiary weight? Can the language "some affect on the evidentiary weight" mean reasonable doubt at trial?