Laboratory and field tests of a passive alcohol sensing system

This paper reports an initial effort to determine the accuracy and reliability of a passive alcohol detector which collects air from in front of the face of a driver and detects alcohol in the expired air. The passive alcohol sensor (PAS) was developed in Japan through the Honda Motor Company. The device is baton-shaped, 20 inches long, and made of plastic. It weighs 4 pounds when filled with batteries. Because the PAS device collects environmental as well as expired air, it can never be as accurate as the active breath testers which collect only the expired air of the suspect. On the other hand, it involves significantly less intrusion since it does not require the individual to put a collector in his mouth or to actively blow into the unit. Since it involves little intrusion and since a large number of tests can be collected rapidly, it can have an important role in permitting the use in the United States of the "chemistry-based" systems of enforcement, whereby all drivers are stopped at sobriety checkpoints or roadblocks and all required to take a breath test.