LIMITED ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE TESTING OF EVIDENTIAL BREATH TESTERS

This report summarizes a limited test program conducted to determine the susceptibility of evidential breath testers (EBTs) to radio frequency interference (RFI). Several comprehensive test protocols were prepared based on procedures developed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Smith & Wesson (manufacturer of the Breathalyzer EBTs). NHTSA endorsed a modification of the Minnesota protocol and developed a videotape training package to complement its written instructions. NHTSA also recommended that police radios not be allowed to transmit signals in EBT test rooms, mobile vans, and by the roadside when breath analyses are being conducted. These materials, the training procedures and the videotape, were distributed to each Governor's Highway Safety Representative, each State Police chief and each State chemical test program director during January 1983. As of the date of this publication, comprehensive test programs using the recommended protocol have been conducted in Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. The results of these screening test programs indicate that less than one percent of the devices tested were found to be susceptible to RFI in the environments where they were used.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Bureau of Standards

  National Engineering Lab, Law Enforcement Standards Lab
  Boulder, CO  United States  80302

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1983-5

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 33 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol breath tests; Electromagnetic interference; Radio frequency interference; Testing
• Old TRIS Terms: Breathalyzers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00390446
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-806 400
• Files: HSL, NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Nov 30 1984 12:00AM