Most instruments automatically sample a subject’s deep lung breath without the need for the operator to do anything but hold the instrument. But what about the subject who can’t – or won’t – blow hard and long enough to achieve an adequate breath sample? feature called “automatic breath sampling.”….

For the past 20 years most advanced breath alcohol testing instruments have incorporated a feature called “automatic breath sampling.”….

Our customers frequently ask for assistance in selecting an alcohol gas tank for use with an Alco-Sensor – should they use an .038 tank, a .082 tank, or a .100 tank? Can they calibrate with a .082 tank and do accuracy checks with a .038 tank? Here’s the scoop on how we answer these questions.

“A trucking company wants to do all of their collections for DOT-covered employees using direct observation procedures. Is this allowable?”

e National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently made several recommendations intended to reduce the number of alcohol-related automotive deaths, including a recommendation for all 50 states to lower the legal blood alcohol content level (BAC) to 0.05 or less….

Some of the nuances in the DOT regulations are the training requirements to perform Accuracy Checks and to perform Calibration Adjustments. Because so many people confuse the calibration terminology we’ll begin with a review of these two procedures….

Compressed alcohol gas has become the favored calibration standard to maintain the accuracy of breath testing instruments. Compressed gas has several advantages compared to simulators, the only other method of producing an alcohol standard. Compressed gas is portable, does not need AC power, is instantly ready to use (see below for the exception), has relatively long shelf life, and is easy to use. However, there are several key issues that breath alcohol operators must know about alcohol gas standards to ensure they give accurate results….