Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices

A new CSA national Technical Standard is to be developed that will work to adopt/adapt the National Research Council of Canada’s Technical Reports on Vehicular Breath Alcohol Interlock Devices in Canada. This document will be developed by the CSA Accredited Standards development process and will seek National Standard of Canada status. It is intended that the primary audience for this document will be device manufacturers, testing laboratories and government regulatory agencies.

The Standard is intended for alcohol interlocks that use human breath as the medium for the determination of blood alcohol content and will define the technical specifications for the interlock device and the interface between the device and the vehicle in which it is mounted.

The following are topics envisioned to be addressed for vehicular breath alcohol devices in this new standard:

• Performance standards
• Technical specifications
• Physical markings
• Testing requirements
• Environmental requirements
• Displays and Documentation

For this standard it is assumed that the method by which an alcohol interlock prevents someone from driving his or her vehicle is by blocking the engine from being started. This document does not refer to those devices used for evidential purposes by law enforcement authorities nor does it refer to devices found in commercial establishments such as bars and restaurants.