Idaho Administrative Code › Title IDAPA 11 - Police, Idaho State › Rule 11.03.01 - RULES GOVERNING ALCOHOL TESTING › Section 11.03.01.014 - REQUIREMENTS FOR PERFORMING BREATH ALCOHOL TESTING

Current through August 31, 2023
01.
Instruments
. Each breath testing instrument model shall be approved by the department and be listed in the "Conforming Products List of Evidential Breath Measurement Devices" published in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Transportation as incorporated by reference in Section  002  of this rule. The department will maintain a list of benchtop and portable instruments approved for evidentiary testing use in Idaho. Each individual breath testing instrument must be certified by the department. The department may, for cause, remove a specific instrument by serial number from evidential testing and suspend or withdraw certification thereof. (3-23-22)
02.
Report
. Each direct breath testing instrument shall report alcohol concentration as grams of alcohol per two hundred ten (210) liters of breath. (3-23-22)
03.
Administration
. Breath tests shall be administered in conformity with standards established by the department. Standards shall be developed for each type of breath testing instrument used in Idaho, and such standards shall be issued in the form of Idaho administrative rules, ISPFS analytical methods, and ISPFS standard operating procedures. (3-23-22)
a. The breath alcohol test must be administered by an operator (BTO or BTS) currently certified in the use of the instrument. (3-23-22)
b. Prior to administering the monitoring period, any foreign objects/materials which have the potential to enter the instrument/breath tube or may present a choking hazard (e.g. gum, chewing tobacco, food) should be removed. (3-23-22)
c. The operator shall administer a monitoring period prior to evidentiary testing. (3-23-22)
d. If mouth alcohol is suspected or indicated by the testing instrument, the operator shall begin another fifteen (15) minute monitoring period if repeating the testing sequence. If during the monitoring period the subject/individual vomits or regurgitates material from the stomach into the breath pathway, the monitoring period should start over. If there is doubt as to the events occurring during the monitoring period (e.g. silent burp, belch, vomit, regurgitation), the operator should evaluate the instrument results for any indication of mouth alcohol. (3-23-22)
e. A complete breath alcohol test includes two (2) valid breath samples taken during the testing procedure and preceded by air blanks. The breath samples performed with a portable breath testing instrument should be approximately two (2) minutes apart or more. If the subject/individual fails or refuses to provide two (2) adequate samples as requested by the operator, the test result of a single adequate sample shall be considered valid. If a single test result is used, then the observation criteria of the monitoring period (observation period) is mandatory. For hygienic reasons, the operator should use a new mouthpiece for each subject/individual tested. (3-23-22)
f. The operator has the discretion to end breath testing, repeat breath testing, or request a blood draw at any point during the testing process as the circumstances require (including but not limited to lack of sample correlation, lack of subject participation or cooperation, subject is incoherent or incapable of following instructions, subject incapacitation). If a subject/individual fails or refuses to provide adequate samples as requested by the operator, the results obtained are still considered valid, provided the failure to supply the requested samples was the fault of the subject/individual and not the operator. (3-23-22)
g. A third breath sample shall, when possible, be collected if the first two (2) results differ by more than 0.02 g/210L alcohol. Unless mouth alcohol is indicated or suspected, it is not necessary to repeat the monitoring period prior to obtaining a third breath sample. (3-23-22)
h. The results for breath samples should correlate within 0.02 g/210L alcohol to show consistent sample delivery, indicate the absence of RFI, and to indicate the absence of alcohol contamination in the subject/ individual's breath pathway as a contributing factor to the breath results. (3-23-22)
i. In the event of an instrument failure, the operator should attempt to utilize another instrument or have blood drawn. (3-23-22)