Govt brings draft rules to standardise breath analysers used by law enforcement agencies
Jun 28, 2024
New Delhi [India], June 28 : The Indian government has introduced new draft rules for Evidential Breath Analysers which are used by law enforcement and other entities, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in a release.
This initiative aims to ensure the accuracy and reliability of breath analyzers used by law enforcement and workplaces, thereby enhancing public safety and trust.
Verified and standardised breathalysers accurately measure blood alcohol levels from breath samples, ensuring that drunk drivers are quickly and effectively identified. This helps prevent accidents caused by alcohol, making travel safer for everyone.
These 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.
After the new rules come into effect, these analysers have 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 read.
Evidential Breath Analysers need to be verified and stamped according to the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, to ensure their accuracy. This verification protects individuals from wrongful penalties due to faulty equipment and helps maintain the integrity of legal and workplace policies.
"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 safe operation of vehicles and machinery. This encourages responsible behaviour and informed decision-making," the department further added.
As per the draft rules, Evidential Breath Analysers are the instruments that measure and display 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 be needed to ensure the accuracy of this instrument during use, as the statement read.
