Comparison of Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Testing Ability of Field Officers to Experts PDF Download

Author: Aurora V. Barriga
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alcohol
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description
Alcohol has many diverse effects on the human body. Alcohol also affects the eye and the visual system in very specific ways, slowing down the reaction time for normal eye movements and causing abnormal eye movements to occur. More than 16,000 people die yearly from alcohol related traffic accidents. The effects of alcohol on the body are important to note because more than just the individual who is consuming the alcohol is affected. As a result, a horizontal gaze nystagmus sobriety test has been created to identify motorists who have blood alcohol counts exceeding the legal limit, thus decreasing the number of alcohol induced traffic accidents. The reliability of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test is the highest of all sobriety tests. This high reliability is due in part to the fact that horizontal gaze nystagmus is an involuntary reaction at extreme lateral gaze. Coordinated movement assessments such as the walk and turn can be practiced and refined by the habitual drinker. Horizontal gaze nystagmus, on the other hand, cannot be practiced and is a portion of the standardized field sobriety test that is not completely understood by the average motorist. This research paper focuses on the variability of accurate grading of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. Subjects consumed a calculated amount of alcohol to bring them within approximately 0.08 percent blood alcohol count. The subjects' eye movements were then videotaped and this video was shown to two groups of professionals. First to optometric doctors who were given a short review about grading the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and secondly to officers who have been certified in conducting the horizontal gaze sobriety nystagmus test. Doctor and officer responses were recorded and analyzed.