Arthur Brown Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Hi Just read in the newspaper that it is obligatory to carry a breath testing device in France as of now. The Presidenti has promised to reduce deaths below 4000 and it is approaching 3980 so they are introducing this requirement. Fixed penalty of 14Euro for not carrying it. Where do you get it and at what cost? Is the FPT cheaper? Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I am pretty sure this not so. It is proposed to make them compulsary in Bars, See Link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-565899/French-drinkers-face-compulsory-breath-tests-bars-reduce-drink-driving-deaths.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 A what ???? never even seen one. ?? is this a joke ? Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Looks like it is coming in next spring - see http://connexionfrance.com/Breath-test-alcohol-driver-Sarkozy-death-toll-speed-camera-13266-view-article.html Just in time for our winter trip back from Portugal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Arthur Brown - 2011-12-02 9:58 PM Hi Just read in the newspaper that it is obligatory to carry a breath testing device in France as of now. The Presidenti has promised to reduce deaths below 4000 and it is approaching 3980 so they are introducing this requirement. Fixed penalty of 14Euro for not carrying it. Where do you get it and at what cost? Is the FPT cheaper? Art From an article in Connexion France.. DRIVERS will have to carry a breath test kit in their vehicles from next spring as part of new measures by President Sarkozy to cut the roads death toll. Other measures include 400 new speed cameras, the introduction of new-generation radar units that work from moving police cars and measures to bring in automatic speed reduction systems in cars. The president also said he was looking at creating a national day for road death victims. In all, 3,980 people died on the roads in the 12 months to October 31 and Sarkozy has little chance of meeting his own target of under 4,000 deaths in 2011. The new measures, he said, are aimed to bring the death rate down to 3,000 by the end of 2012. Sarkozy said speed cameras were not "easy budget boosters" and that all the money from fines was put back into road safety. Alcohol is the No1 cause of deaths, being involved in 31% of fatal accidents, and Sarkozy said in-car breath test kits would let drivers will know whether they were safe to drive. However, he made no announcement on increasing the number of points lost off a licence for drink-drive offences. At present drivers lose six of their 12 points, so a ban is not automatic. A Sécurité Routière official said the breath test would be a simple "balloon into which you blow and which you need to have in your car or face a fine of €11." Interior Minister Claude Guéant has also asked EU authorities to look at the obligatory installation of anti-start breath test monitors in each car. Drivers would have to blow into the machine - and pass - before their car would start. Also, from today, discos and clubs must have breath test machines available for customers to use to know if they have had too much drink or too much to drive. Drivers already have to carry a fluorescent waistcoat and a warning triangle in their vehicles but there was no indication of whether motorcyclists and scooter riders would have to carry breath tests. Sarkozy made a point of highlighting the number of motorcycle road deaths last year, saying: "It is not normal that in 2010 24% of the deaths are on two-wheels when they make up just 2% of traffic." He did not say if the motorcyclists were the cause or the victims of accidents. Road safety campaigner Chantal Perrichon welcomed the measures as "going on the right road" but added that they should have been done earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 You can buy these kits in any service station and also some shops. They have been around for a number of years. It has been a legal requirement for some time but nobody has enforced it so it has been on the back shelf, so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 These are a couple of links to French-language webpages that mention the plan to introduce a legal requirement to carry breath-testing equipment in vehicles in France (It's worth reading the comments appended to the Le Figaro piece!) http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2011/11/30/01016-20111130ARTFIG00740-l-ethylotest-bientot-obligatoire-dans-les-voitures.php http://www.liberation.fr/societe/01012374946-l-ethylotest-bientot-obligatoire-dans-chaque-vehicule (If you GOOGLE on “ethylotest voiture” you’ll get plenty more.) An introduction date of ‘next spring’ is mentioned but, if the procedure to legalise the plan follows the process used for the requirement to carry a high-visibility waistcoat/warning-triangle, that may be well optimistic. In the latter case there was initially argument about whether or not the waistcoat/triangle law applied only to French-registered vehicles. Then two dates were set with (if I remember correctly) a 3-month interval between them. This interval allowed people to get used to the idea, for retailers to build up stocks and for the waistcoats/triangles to be obtained by vehicle owners. Although the French police could stop and check vehicles from Date One regarding carriage of a waistcoat/triangle, the police did not begin to prosecute for non-carriage until after Date Two. Presumably it will also need to be agreed which makes/types of breath-testing kit will comply with the French regulation. For instance, if a UK driver carries one of the following type http://www.rowlandspharmacy.co.uk/page/search/store.cfm?event=shop.shopfront.product.index&productId=1172&gclid=CKXHy9O_5awCFUMLfAodD36_OA will this be OK, or will he/she also need to carry the cheaper 'blow-in-a-bag' kit that the French articles suggest will be needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Randonneur - 2011-12-03 8:44 AM You can buy these kits in any service station and also some shops. They have been around for a number of years. It has been a legal requirement for some time but nobody has enforced it so it has been on the back shelf, so to speak. "...It has been a legal requirement for some time but nobody has enforced it so it has been on the back shelf, so to speak..." Too the best of my knowledge that statement is wrong. I can find nothing to that effect in the French Code de la Route and nothing about it in any of the websites or publications advising 'foreign' drivers about French traffic laws. Also, logically, if there were already a legal requirement for drivers to carry breath-testing equipment in France, there would be no need to introduce new measures in 2012. Are you able to support your statement factually, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgain Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 have to watch our little drinks in the evening then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Derek Uzzell - 2011-12-03 10:03 AM Randonneur - 2011-12-03 8:44 AM You can buy these kits in any service station and also some shops. They have been around for a number of years. It has been a legal requirement for some time but nobody has enforced it so it has been on the back shelf, so to speak. "...It has been a legal requirement for some time but nobody has enforced it so it has been on the back shelf, so to speak..." Too the best of my knowledge that statement is wrong. I can find nothing to that effect in the French Code de la Route and nothing about it in any of the websites or publications advising 'foreign' drivers about French traffic laws. Also, logically, if there were already a legal requirement for drivers to carry breath-testing equipment in France, there would be no need to introduce new measures in 2012. Are you able to support your statement factually, please? I can only pass on the information that was giiven to me: "It appears that the requirement to keep a breath test kit in the car was already adopted by French law in the 1970s, but had never been brought into force until this announcement by Sarkosy on Wednesday." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Until the details are clarified I guess there is not much point worrying. It is unclear, at present, if the requirement will extend to foreign registered vehicles. The possible fine for not carrying the ethylotest is variously quoted at €11 and €17, so it seems that hasn't been finalised. The testers are reported as available at most filling stations for between €1 and €1.5, so no great problem or cost to comply, if necessary. However, what seems to totally lacking is what one is supposed to do to comply with the law. Merely carrying one seems completely futile: I assume one is also expected to use it, because it is of little merit as a dashboard mascot. But when is it to be used, and how does one prove one has used it, and when, what is the penalty for failing to do so? Do the police simply accept your used tester as evidence that, despite their suspicions, you are sober enough to drive? If your tester says below the limit, and they test you and find positive, are you fined for submitting a false sample, or similar? Then, what if you have not used it and they find you positive? Is the penalty for driving under the influence automatically greater? What then if you have used to and it says positive and you still drive and are caught? It is really a bit like the wag in Derek's Le Figaro link said, in terms - you can imagine a drunk rolling out of a bar, testing himself - and then driving home. The drunk are not renowned for their logic! It is an idea, but I think there is much detail yet to be added before it sees the light of day - if it ever does. To me it seems quite unworkable, saving if you have in your car when stopped a tester showing a positive result to prove you knowingly drove when over the limit. And even a drunk would surely have the sense to first throw the evidence out of the window, then claim he used the test and it was negative, but he must have dropped the tester, risk the fine for not carrying one, and gambol on testing negative - rather than hang himself with his own rope. Seems to me Sarko may have been on something mildly intoxicating when he invented this one. Hic! Pardon. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheer lunar-see Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Hi all, as a new resident here in france, this is news to me. But as to the state of driving under the influence of alchohol, i think most of them are, judgeing by their driving, it must be some sort of majic to them. Even after being convicted of drink driving and losing their licence, they can carry on driving in one of those funny little ligier type cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Randonneur - 2011-12-03 3:26 PM Derek Uzzell - 2011-12-03 10:03 AM Randonneur - 2011-12-03 8:44 AM You can buy these kits in any service station and also some shops. They have been around for a number of years. It has been a legal requirement for some time but nobody has enforced it so it has been on the back shelf, so to speak. "...It has been a legal requirement for some time but nobody has enforced it so it has been on the back shelf, so to speak..." Too the best of my knowledge that statement is wrong. I can find nothing to that effect in the French Code de la Route and nothing about it in any of the websites or publications advising 'foreign' drivers about French traffic laws. Also, logically, if there were already a legal requirement for drivers to carry breath-testing equipment in France, there would be no need to introduce new measures in 2012. Are you able to support your statement factually, please? I can only pass on the information that was giiven to me: "It appears that the requirement to keep a breath test kit in the car was already adopted by French law in the 1970s, but had never been brought into force until this announcement by Sarkosy on Wednesday." Fair enough, though I'm surprised that self-testing kits would have been available in the 1970s. I certainly don't remember them being marketed then, though that may have been because I was usually very, very drunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Two thoughts arise, if the driver is past caring and cannot find his mouth, what then? What if it can be proved you are a non drinker? art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Presumably your supposed to just carry them like you do all the other crap. Triangles, Hi Viz vests, bulbs, spare specs etc etc et flipping cetra then you can use it if you fear you may be under the influence. So its there in case you need it. The thing is though, these testers can actually make you drink more. I used to have one, an electronic one and on occasions I had to drink over six pints to fail it! I even past a Police one after four pints of Stella once! Now can I just say before I am hung drawn and quartered that on none of these occasions did I have any intention of driving. It was purely an exercise. So you take a few tests and realise you can actually have three or four drinks before you fail when you always thought any more than two was dodgy. People will just drink up to their exact limit once they figure out what it is. Pointless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I have always dreaded being breathalised, not because I drink and drive (dare I say that these are the people who deserve to be shot?) but because I cannot, for the life of me, inflate a balloon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Another French government initiative to try to reduce road deaths is to remove road-signage warning of fixed speed cameras and regular radar checks and to outlaw any electronic means of identifying them. See the "BEWARE.... RADAR WARNING DEVICES" section on the following link: http://about-france.com/travel.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I still believe that if you want to drive you don't drink. Then its black and white, if you have a drink before you drive then get caught you have no comeback. Martin has been breathtested twice whilst we have lived here once at midnight and again at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon. Negative both times but still puts the wind up you, why do we feel guilty even though we haven't done anything. Sylvia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 As you say Mick, it's the morning after which will catch people out. It depends on the level but France is below our 35 level so an early start after some farewell sauce could be a problem. I do believe that most people do not drink and drive ( it spills anyway) jokes aside most people are very aware of the drink driving situation but is is amazing how many are caught out the next day. I think, to sum up, most newspaper bits have an amount of truth in them. What I originally posted would seem to be the desired situation but the French being laid back will take time to comply. I only hope we get time to comply. To answere someone elses comment, any breath testing device in the UK will not be of any use in France as we have different levels, ours is 35 The French is less than that so you could pass a UK device and still be convicted in France. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Arthur Brown - 2011-12-04 9:39 PM ..To answere someone elses comment, any breath testing device in the UK will not be of any use in France as we have different levels, ours is 35 The French is less than that so you could pass a UK device and still be convicted in France... Art This will be true when a breathalyser has been designed to provide just a single under-or-over measuring capability. As you rightly say the French limit is lower than the UK's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunk_driving_law_by_country and a cheap UK 'single use' self-testing breathalyser will be of little value in France. However, more expensive UK breath-testing equipments, although they may not specifically warn when the French limit is approached/exceeded, will have a read-out that (assuming the user is in a fit condition to read it of course) will provide the necessary information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Derek, Slightly off topic, however have saved your brilliant link to roads in France in my favourites. I think that a feature in MMM on driving through France using http://about-france.com/travel.htm as a basis would be of use to many of us. Especially readers of MMM who do not frequent this forum. Many thanks --- mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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