Volpe Center Alcohol Countermeasures Program Developing International Standards
The Volpe Center's long and distinguished list of accomplishments in alcohol countermeasures and transportation has given it a nationally-recognized leadership position in the field. Since its founding in 1970, the Center's Alcohol Countermeasures Support program has been continually assisting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as well as other sponsors such as the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration in designing and developing devices and programs that can accurately detect the presence of alcohol in transportation drivers and operators.
One of the program's major current activities is participating in the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML). Volpe's staff is part of the OIML working group that is drafting recommended international standardized procedures for evaluating breath alcohol testing and screening devices, or EBTs. Other activities — many of which take place in the Alcohol Countermeasures Lab at the Volpe Center — include developing specifications for and testing EBTs and calibration units and testing submitted breath test samples.
In addition to being a long-standing program at the Volpe Center, it is remarkable for having had only two technical program managers in its forty-year history. Dr. Art Flores was program manager from 1970 until 2005. Today Ed Conde manages the program. At NHTSA's request, the Volpe Center frequently provides expert testimony for pre-trial hearings, court appearances, telephone testimony, depositions and affidavits on the validity of breath alcohol tests and testing devices. The Volpe Center helped to develop, validate and/or calibrate these technologies through scientific testing.
Additional information is available at the Alcohol Countermeasures Program website.
