When Is a DOT Alcohol Test Cancelled?

Under 49 CFR 40.267, some problems, called fatal flaws, always cancel an alcohol test. For saliva or breath tube ASDs, they are reading the result sooner or later than the manufacturer and Part 40 allow, a saliva device that does not activate, use after the expiration date, and a breath tube analyzer not pre-calibrated for that device's lot. For any EBT test, a test number or result on the display that does not match the printed result is a fatal flaw.

For a confirmation test, the fatal flaws are testing before the end of the 15-minute waiting period, skipping the air blank, an air blank that does not read 0.00, an EBT that does not print the result, and a later external calibration check outside the QAP tolerance, which cancels every result of 0.02 or above since the last valid check.

Under 49 CFR 40.269, correctable flaws cancel a test only if they are not corrected. They are a technician who does not sign the ATF, a missing note on the Remarks line that the employee did not sign after the result, and use of a non-DOT form. Under 49 CFR 40.271(b), the person responsible corrects the flaw in writing with a signed statement, and for a non-DOT form that statement is due on the same business day the person is notified. Under 49 CFR 40.271(a), a technician who learns of a fatal flaw during or shortly after testing tries to correct it promptly, if practicable, which can mean a new test with a new ATF.

Under 49 CFR 40.273, a cancelled test is neither positive nor negative. It cannot carry the consequences of a result of 0.02 or greater, cannot be used where a result below 0.02 is needed, such as a return-to-duty test, and does not count toward random testing rates. The DER is informed within 48 hours. Under 49 CFR 40.275(b), a minor administrative mistake, such as an omitted middle initial, does not cancel a test, and neither does an employee's failure to sign Step 4 or a claim of improper selection.

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