SFST
Government & Politics abbreviation · Police
| Stands for | Standardized field sobriety tests |
|---|---|
| Categories | Government & Politics |
SFST stands for Standardized field sobriety tests, a police abbreviation.
Set of three roadside tests used by US officers to judge whether a driver is impaired: horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn and one-leg stand. The battery was developed with funding from NHTSA in the 1970s and 1980s.
Example: The officer administered the SFST battery and noted four clues on the walk-and-turn.
Usage notes
Officers trained in the standardized battery score specific "clues" for each test. Non-standardized tests, such as reciting the alphabet backward, are less reliable. Drivers in most states can decline field sobriety tests, unlike chemical tests under implied consent laws. Often shortened to FST.
Related abbreviations
More police abbreviations
- PO – Parole officer
- POI – Person of interest
- POST – Peace Officer Standards and Training
- RMS – Records management system
- ROR – Released on own recognizance
- RTC – Road traffic collision
- SIO – Senior investigating officer
- SO – Sheriff's office
- SRO – School resource officer
- SWAT – Special weapons and tactics
- TASER – Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle
- TWOC – Taking without owner's consent