Now that the police officer has made a decision to ask the driver to step out of the vehicle, the officer begins to pay more attention to the driver’s physical abilities. First, the officer is taught to watch what the NHTSA calls “the exit sequence,” or what normal human beings call “getting out of the car.”
Officers are taught to look for drivers who become angry when asked to step out, can’t follow instructions, leave the car in gear, can’t open the door, lean against the car, or can’t keep their balance without holding onto the car. And if they see any of those things, they add it to their list of reasons why they think the driver is impaired and should note that in their written report.
So by all means, if you find yourself in a situation where an officer is asking you to step out of the car, please pay attention to what you are doing.
The next thing that happens is covered in Step 3 – The Tests.