General FAQ
A Quality Assurance Plan is a set of guidelines followed by the user of the equipment to insure accurate results. It is sometimes referred to as a “maintenance program” or “maintenance protocol”.
Each jurisdiction defines its own policies for quality assurance.
For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation workplace testing program requires that the manufacturer of the breath testing instrument publish a QAP and have it approved by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). It also requires that the users of instruments in the DOT testing program follow the requirements of the QAP.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. They are responsible for many things that are transportation-related. One of their functions is to evaluate and approve breath alcohol testing instruments.
The U.S. DOT alcohol testing program requires the use of instruments on one of NHTSA’s Conforming Products Lists (CPL).
Conforming Products List – evidential
Conforming Products List – screening
Preliminary Breath Test. This term is generally used in law enforcement testing to describe a screening test done to establish probable cause for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Preliminary Breath Tester. Law enforcement term referring to the testing device used to perform a screening test for probable cause.
Also known as PAS, or Preliminary Alcohol Screener.
Mouth alcohol is alcohol that remains in the mouth after a recent drink or after use of mouthwash or another product that contains alcohol. Mouth alcohol dissipates from the mouth in a very short time, typically in 10-15 minutes.
Prior to conducting an evidential breath alcohol test, the subject must be observed for 15 minutes to insure that any residual alcohol in the mouth has dissipated.
Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance. This is the division of the Department of Transportation that administers 49 CFR Part 40 regulations. This is the only office that can provide definitive guidance for any questions related to Part 40 procedures.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. When the federal government wishes to make changes to the Code of Federal Regulations, an NPRM is issued to describe the proposed change(s) and to allow the public time to comment on the changes.
This is important to Breath Alcohol Technicians and instructors because they must be aware of changes and potential changes to the regulations in 49 CFR Part 40 in order to conduct drug & alcohol tests correctly.
A Quality Assurance Plan is a set of guidelines followed by the user of the equipment to insure accurate results.
The U.S. Department of Transportation workplace testing program requires that the manufacturer of the breath testing instrument publish a QAP and have it approved by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). It also requires that the users of instruments in the DOT testing program follow the requirements of the QAP.