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What could cause you to fail a balance test?

On Behalf of | Jul 28, 2021 | blog

If a police officer pulls you over on suspicion of DUI, the officer will likely ask you to perform a field sobriety test. Some of these tests involve checking your balance. One example is a walk and turn test which determines if you can walk in a straight line. The problem is that you might fail these tests for reasons that have nothing to do with how many drinks you have consumed.

Not everyone can keep their balance perfectly. As the Mayo Clinic explains, you might have a number of issues that interfere with your body’s ability to coordinate movement. Any of these problems could cause you to fail a balance test.

Health conditions that cause dizziness

If you sometimes feel the world around you is spinning, you may have vertigo. Some conditions that affect your inner ear can produce vertigo. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is one example. Some people develop dizzy sensations from motion sickness and headaches. In particular, migraines commonly result in dizziness.

Problems from injuries

At some point you may have sustained a serious injury that caused damage to your muscles. The result could leave you unable to coordinate your movements. You may also develop dizziness from a head injury. Some people suffer peripheral neuropathy, which is damage to the nerves in your legs. This condition can make it harder to walk correctly.

Taking some medicines

You might need medicine to treat depression, blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease. However, some of these medicines could affect your inner ear or make you feel lightheaded. If you still have this medication in your system, it may make it hard to comply with a sobriety test.

You should not suffer legal consequences because you could not comply with a sobriety test through no fault of your own. Because a DUI conviction can result in serious penalties, you want to mount the best defense possible.

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