Performance Evaluation: Balloon-Type Breath Alcohol Self Tester for Personal Use

Anderson, Theodore E. · 1984 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This 1984 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) technical report evaluates the accuracy of the Luckey Laboratories DM-2, a balloon-type disposable breath alcohol self-tester marketed for personal use. The study was motivated by the critical safety implications of false negative readings in personal testing scenarios. Unlike police-grade testers, which are designed to minimize false positives to protect against wrongful arrests, personal users require devices that minimize false negatives to prevent individuals from driving while legally impaired. The DM-2 was the only such device available for personal use at the time, making its reliability assessment essential for public safety. The research employed laboratory testing using a breath alcohol simulator to generate artificial breath samples with alcohol concentrations ranging from 0.02% to 0.15%. The study specifically focused on the device's ability to correctly classify individuals at or above the 0.10% Breath Alcohol Concentration (BAC) legal limit. Variables included breath sample volumes (2 to 6 liters) and environmental temperatures (57°F to 95°F). The DM-2 device operates by passing breath through a reaction tube containing potassium dichromate crystals, which change from yellow to green in the presence of alcohol. The extent of color change indicates the BAC level. The experimenter estimated color changes in 0.1 band intervals after a standardized two-minute waiting period. The results demonstrated significant inaccuracies, particularly regarding false negatives. At optimal temperatures (around 75°F), the device produced false negative rates between 43% and 73% for BAC levels at or above 0.10%. For instance, with a 2-liter sample at 0.10% BAC, only 27% of trials were correctly classified. Performance degraded drastically at moderate temperatures (around 60°F), where the false negative rate reached 100% for all tested conditions (0.10%, 0.12%, and 0.15% BAC). Additionally, the study noted that the color changes were difficult to interpret due to dull, diffuse boundaries and low contrast between the reacted green and unreacted yellow bands, leading to subjective uncertainty in reading results. The report concludes that the Luckey Laboratories DM-2 is not recommended for use by the driving public. The high incidence of false negatives, especially in cooler outdoor conditions, poses a severe risk by potentially informing drivers that they are below the legal limit when they are actually impaired. The authors emphasize that self-test devices should not be the sole indicator for driving decisions and recommend that individuals also monitor for physical symptoms of impairment. The study highlights a fundamental mismatch between the design criteria of police-oriented testers and the safety requirements for personal use, underscoring the inadequacy of the DM-2 for its intended market.

Key finding

The Luckey Laboratories DM-2 balloon-type breath alcohol tester produced high rates of false negative readings, frequently indicating a BAC below 0.10% when actual levels were at or above that limit, with accuracy worsening significantly at cooler temperatures.

Methodology

lab_experiment

Provenance

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Topics

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• alcohol detection systems