Centre unveils draft rules to improve reliability of breath analyzer equipment

The central government on Friday unveiled a set of draft rules to help improve accuracy and reliability of breath analyser equipment, which will in turn help law enforcement agencies in curbing incidents of drunken driving.

The new rules, brought out by the legal metrology division of the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011, require breath analysers to follow standardised testing procedures, to ensure consistent and reliable results across different devices.

To ensure accuracy, breath analysers will need to be verified and stamped according to the Legal Metrology Act, 2009. Meanwhile, all such equipment already under use will need to be verified and stamped within one year.

“This verification protects individuals from wrongful penalties due to faulty equipment and helps maintain the integrity of legal and workplace policies,” a release from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said.

“This standardisation fosters public confidence in the fairness and accuracy of enforcement actions,” it added.

The new set of 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.

Additionally, the rules also outline several technical requirements for instruments like displaying only the final measurement result, including a printer to record results and ensuring the device does not operate without paper, providing additional printed information along with the blood alcohol concentration result, and reporting results in different formats, such as blood alcohol concentration in blood.

The verified and standardised breath analysers will help accurately measure blood alcohol concentration from samples, ensuring that intoxicated individuals are identified swiftly and effectively.

These rules are part of the ministry’s 100-day plan, said sources.

Going forward, the ministry is also expected to notify rules for gas and energy meters, radar speed meters for vehicles, and moisture meters for grains and oilseeds, they added. The draft rules have been placed on the website for public comments until July 26. Business Standard