Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Alcohol" means ethyl alcohol, also called ethanol (C₂H₅OH).

"Applicant" means a service provider technician or state director who applies for a Virginia Ignition Interlock Certification Letter from the commission.

"ASAP" means a local alcohol safety action program.

"BAC" or "blood alcohol concentration" means the amount of alcohol in an offender's blood or breath, as determined by chemical analysis, that is measured by the number of grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or 210 liters of breath.

"Breath test" means an analysis of the breath alcohol concentration of a deep lung breath sample.

"Calibration" means the process that ensures an accurate alcohol concentration reading is being obtained on the ignition interlock device.

"Commission" means the Commission on Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program or its designee.

"Deep lung breath sample," also known as "alveolar breath sample," means an air sample that is the last portion of a prolonged, uninterrupted exhalation and that gives a quantitative measurement of alcohol concentration from which breath alcohol concentrations can be determined. "Alveolar" refers to the alveoli that are the smallest air passages in the lungs surrounded by capillary blood vessels and through which an interchange of gases occurs during respiration.

"Device" means a breath alcohol ignition interlock device.

"Device certification" means the testing and approval process required by the Commission on Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program.

"DMV" means the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

"Executive Finance Committee" means the advisory subcommittee of the commission composed of the Executive Director of the Commission on Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program, two commission members, and such other person as the commission designates.

"Fail point" means the level at which the breath alcohol concentration, as established in § 18.2-270.1 of the Code of Virginia, is sufficient to prevent a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device from starting.

"Free restart" means the ability to start the engine again within a two-minute period of time without completion of another breath test when the condition exists where a breath test is successfully completed and the motor vehicle is started, but then the engine stops for any reason.

"Ignition interlock system" means a device that (i) connects a motor vehicle ignition system to an analyzer that measures an offender's blood alcohol concentration; (ii) prevents a motor vehicle ignition from starting if the offender's blood alcohol concentration reaches the fail point; and (iii) is equipped with the ability to perform a rolling retest and to electronically log the blood alcohol concentration during ignitions, attempted ignitions, and rolling retests.

"Interlock event" means vehicle operator activity that is recorded by the ignition interlock to include, but not be limited to, vehicle starts and attempted starts, rolling retests, breath tests, lockouts, ignition shutoffs, power outages, and interlock tampering.

"Lockout" means the ability of the ignition interlock device to prevent a motor vehicle's engine from starting.

"Manufacturer" means the actual maker of the ignition interlock device that assembles the product and distributes it to service providers.

"Motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined in §§ 18.2-266 and 46.2-100 of the Code of Virginia.

"Offender" means the individual required by the court or the Department of Motor Vehicles to drive only motor vehicles that have certified ignition interlock devices installed.

"Permanent lockout" means a feature of the ignition interlock device that prevents a motor vehicle from starting until the ignition interlock device is reset by a service provider.

"Retest" means an additional opportunity to provide a deep lung breath sample below the alcohol fail point.

"Rolling retest" means a test of the offender's blood alcohol concentration required at random intervals during operation of the motor vehicle that triggers the sounding of the horn and flashing of lights if (i) the test indicates that the offender has a blood alcohol concentration that reaches the fail point or (ii) the offender fails to take the test.

"Service center" means the physical location where the service provider installs, calibrates, and removes the ignition interlock device on the offender's vehicle.

"Service provider" means an authorized supplier and installer of the approved ignition interlock devices. In some cases, the service provider may also be a manufacturer of an ignition interlock device.

"State director" means a service provider employee who provides oversight of the service provider's ignition interlock operations in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Tampering" means an unlawful act or attempt to disable or circumvent the legal operation of the ignition interlock device to include providing samples other than the natural breath of the offender, starting the motor vehicle via unconventional means without first taking and passing a breath test, or physically tampering with the device to disable or otherwise disconnect the device from its power source.

"Technician" means a service provider employee who installs, calibrates, or removes interlock devices in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Temporary lockout" means a feature of the ignition interlock device that will not allow the motor vehicle to start for a preset time period after a breath test result indicates a BAC that reaches the fail point.

"Vendor certification" means the process of determining that a vendor has been approved to provide ignition interlock services in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Violation" means an event, such as a breath test indicating a BAC reaching the fail point upon initial startup; a refusal to provide a rolling retest deep lung breath sample; a rolling retest with a BAC reaching the fail point; altering, concealing, hiding, or attempting to hide one's identity from the ignition interlock system's camera while providing a breath sample; or tampering, that breaches the guidelines for use of the interlock device.

"Violation reset" means a feature of the ignition interlock device that activates a service reminder due to a violation or failure to report for calibration within 30 days of the installation or previous calibration.

"Virginia Ignition Interlock Certification Exam" means an exam administered by the commission to service provider state directors and technicians that must be successfully completed and submitted as a component of an application for a "Virginia Ignition Interlock Certification Letter."

"Virginia Ignition Interlock Certification Letter" means a letter issued by the commission to a service provider technician or state director authorizing the technician or state director to perform ignition interlock services in the Commonwealth of Virginia.