Questions About Your DUI?
Law Enforcement officers in Snohomish County will often carry a "portable breath test" or "PBT" with them in their car. As detailed below, the Washington Administrative Code specifically allows for their usage in a limited capacity. Many Snohomish County law enforcement officers will attempt to use these portable breath test devices as part of their formulation for probable cause to arrest you for drunk driving. The officers are legally required to inform you that the portable breath test is voluntary. In our experience, however, many do not. Many clients over the years have related to us that the officer simply told them that he wanted them to provide a breath sample and that they felt as if they had not choice but to provide one.
The simply truth is that these portable breath test devices are notoriously inaccurate, and you should always politely refuse to blow into one. You are not legally required to provide a breath sample into one of these devices, and it is almost never to your benefit to do so. Instead, tell the officer that you are willing to consider submitting to a breath test at the police station AFTER you have had a chance to exercise your right to speak with an attorney.
There are also very specific procedures that must be followed in order for a portable breath test to even legally be used as part of an officer's reasonable formulation for probable cause to arrest someone for DUI here in Washington State. The attorneys at Snohomish County DUI Lawyer are trained to look for technical deficiencies in the officer's report with regard to the administration of these portable breath tests. Our lawyers are also trained in how to cross examine law enforcement officers on the subject. If the officer improperly relied upon a portable breath test, there may be grounds to challenge the validity of your drunk driving arrest.
Chapter 448-15
WAC
Administration of
breath alcohol screening test
Last Update:
3/1/99 WAC Sections
448-15-010
Approval of devices.
448-15-020
Use of test results.
448-15-030
Test protocol.
448-15-040
Certification.
448-15-050
PBT operators.
448-15-060
PBT technicians.
The following preliminary
breath test (PBT) instruments are approved for use in the state of Washington as
breath alcohol screening devices, subject to the requirements outlined in the
following sections:
Alcosensor III (Intoximeters, St. Louis,
MO).
Any other instruments on the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) approved products list will be considered for approval in
Washington state on application to the state toxicologist, providing that a
suitable program for maintenance, certification and operator training is also
established and approved.
[Statutory
Authority: RCW 46.61.506. 99-06-047, § 448-15-010, filed 3/1/99, effective
4/1/99.]
448-15-020
The devices described in WAC 448-15-010 are approved for use in aiding police officers
to form probable cause that a subject has committed an offense involving the
consumption of alcohol. The test results, when obtained by a trained operator
using an approved device which has been maintained and certified according to
the rules described below, and carried out according to the approved test
protocol, will show to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, the test
subject's breath alcohol concentration. The results are therefore suitable to
show whether an officer has probable cause to place a person under arrest for
alcohol related offenses. These results may not be used on their own for
determining, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a person's breath alcohol
concentration exceeds a proscribed level such as anticipated under the 'per se'
statutes for intoxication.
Use of test results.
This preliminary breath test is
voluntary, and participation in it does not constitute compliance with the
implied consent statute (RCW 46.20.308).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.61.506. 99-06-047, §
448-15-020, filed 3/1/99, effective 4/1/99.]
448-15-030
After advising the subject that this
is a voluntary test, and that it is not an alternative to an evidential breath
alcohol test as described in chapter 448-13 WAC, the operator shall determine by
observation or inquiry, that the subject has not consumed any alcohol in the
fifteen minutes prior to administering the test. If the subject has consumed
alcohol during that period, the officer should not administer the screening test
for probable cause purposes until fifteen minutes have passed. If the subject
responds that they have not consumed any alcohol in the last fifteen minutes,
the officer may offer the subject the opportunity to provide a breath sample
into the PBT. If the subject consents, the operator will check the temperature
of the device to ensure that it is within the normal operating range. The
operator will then press the "read" button to obtain a sample of ambient air,
and ensure that this results in a reading of 0.003 or less. The subject will be
asked to exhale into the device. The device will be activated towards the end of
the subject's exhalation, to capture a portion of end expiratory breath for
analysis.
Test protocol.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
46.61.506. 99-06-047, § 448-15-030, filed 3/1/99, effective
4/1/99.]
448-15-040
Any PBT used as described in the
preceding sections, must be certified at least every six months. In order to
certify a PBT as accurate, the testing shall include at a minimum, a blank test
of room air which must give a result of less than 0.005g/210L, and a test of a
certified dry gas alcohol standard. The instrument must accurately measure the
reference value within ± 0.010g/210L. A record of certification must be kept by
the person responsible for calibration. Certification of PBTs can be performed
by persons certified by the state toxicologist as PBT technicians, or by factory
authorized representatives, provided that the protocol for certification
approved by the state toxicologist is followed.
Certification.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.61.506. 99-06-047, §
448-15-040, filed 3/1/99, effective 4/1/99.]
448-15-050
Persons certified as DataMaster
operators as described in WAC 448-13-150, who received their certification or
recertification after September 1, 1998, shall be trained and authorized to
perform the tests described herein on the PBT, for the purposes outlined in this
section.
PBT operators.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
46.61.506. 99-06-047, § 448-15-050, filed 3/1/99, effective
4/1/99.]
448-15-060
Persons trained according to
approved outlines prepared by the state toxicologist, in the proper procedures
for certifying PBTs shall be certified as PBT technicians. Their
responsibilities will include performing periodic certification and maintaining
records on such certification. Wallet sized permits shall be issued to persons
so qualified. The certification received on successful completion of the
training must be renewed every three years. Persons certified as DataMaster
technicians as described in WAC 448-13-170 are also certified to perform all the
duties of PBT technicians.
PBT technicians.
[Statutory
Authority: RCW 46.61.506. 99-06-047, § 448-15-060, filed 3/1/99, effective
4/1/99.]