Centre unveils new draft rules for breath analysers used by cops, workplace testers

New Delhi: The Legal Metrology Division of the Department of Consumer Affairs, has unveiled new draft rules for Evidential Breath Analysers which aim to ensure the accuracy and reliability of breath analysers used by law enforcement agencies and workplaces so that public safety and trust are enhanced, according to an official statement released on Friday.

The rules provide for Stamping and Verification of Evidential Breath Analysers to be verified every year to protect individuals from wrongful penalties due to faulty equipment, the statement said.

The verified and standardised Evidential Breath Analysers will accurately measure blood alcohol concentration from breath samples, ensuring that intoxicated individuals are identified swiftly and effectively. This helps prevent alcohol-related incidents on the road, contributing to safer travel for everyone.

The new rules require Evidential Breath Analysers to follow standardised testing procedures, ensuring consistent and reliable results across different devices. This standardisation fosters public confidence in the fairness and accuracy of enforcement actions, the statement explained.

Evidential Breath Analysers provide a non-invasive way to measure blood alcohol content, offering quick and painless sample collection. The rapid analysis capabilities allow law enforcement officers to make swift, informed decisions, enhancing the effectiveness of roadside checks.

The availability of stamped and verified Evidential Breath Analysers to the public can raise awareness about the effects of alcohol on impairment and the legal limits for the safe operation of vehicles and machinery. This encourages responsible behaviour and informed decision-making, the statement said.

The draft rules define “Evidential Breath Analysers” as an Instrument that measures and displays the breath alcohol mass concentration of exhaled human breath within specified error limits and are applicable to those types of Evidential Breath Analysers that use mouthpieces for sampling the breath. The rules provide for various types of tests to ensure the correctness of the instrument. The yearly verification will ensure the accuracy of this instrument during use, the statement added.

The draft rules outline several technical requirements for Evidential Breath Analysers, including:

* Displaying only the final measurement result

* Including a printer to record results and ensure the device does not operate without paper

* Providing additional printed information along with the blood alcohol concentration result

*Reporting results in different formats, such as blood alcohol concentration in blood

By ensuring that Evidential Breath Analysers are accurate, standardised, and easy to use, these rules will benefit the public through better enforcement, increased safety, and enhanced trust in legal and workplace alcohol testing, the statement added.

The draft rules are placed on the website for public comments up to 26.07.2024 at the link: https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/sites/default/files/file-uploads/latestnews/Draft_Rule_Breath_Analyser.pdf