ROOKY Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 how do we get one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackfingers Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Caravan Club shop or Halfords or Port shops or French pharmacie... Ian L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 A few weeks back was in Halfords and they had them for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 On the ferry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheer lunar-see Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Don't bother, it's still under debate here as to wether it goes ahead, but if you still want them, buy them in a supermarket in France, it will only cost you 1 or 2 euros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 sheer lunar-see Don't bother, it's still under debate here as to wether it goes ahead I thought that the need to carry a breathalyzer in France became law 1st November this year. Has something changed? Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Cattwg - 2012-12-10 5:55 PM sheer lunar-see Don't bother, it's still under debate here as to wether it goes ahead I thought that the need to carry a breathalyzer in France became law 1st November this year. Has something changed? Cattwg :-D Yes, It's been deferred until March 2013 and also talk that it maybe dropped. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Breathalysers became law in France in July and police were to begin checking vehicles in November. This has now been postponed until March with, as another poster has already stated, the possibility that the law will not be enforced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I bet a bottle of best vin rouge that like many laws in our beloved France this will be quietly dropped. As public opinion seems not to support it. Can you really see officers of the law demanding to see these items Unless of course they combine this task with checking that your sat nav really does not have the cash cameras installed and that you have not got a speed gun detector installed as well. Oh yes and that you have the GB sticker on the back, headlamp adjusters fixed on and reflective jacket in the cab. If I had a Euro for every GB vehicle I have seen with no GB sticker and no headlamp adapters ........... Sorry - grumpy person outburst! Will they really forgo their excellent coffee and croissant break to check yet another campervan? Pas de chance! (lol) Unless you are very unlucky...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Matrix Meanderer - 2012-12-10 6:32 PM I bet a bottle of best vin rouge that like many laws in our beloved France this will be quietly dropped. As public opinion seems not to support it. Can you really see officers of the law demanding to see these items Unless of course they combine this task with checking that your sat nav really does not have the cash cameras installed and that you have not got a speed gun detector installed as well. Oh yes and that you have the GB sticker on the back, headlamp adjusters fixed on and reflective jacket in the cab. If I had a Euro for every GB vehicle I have seen with no GB sticker and no headlamp adapters ........... Sorry - grumpy person outburst! Will they really forgo their excellent coffee and croissant break to check yet another campervan? Pas de chance! (lol) Unless you are very unlucky...... Since when did you need a GB sticker? I thought the requirement was for number plates showing the GB logo. As for headlamp adapters have you seen a single foreign vehicle having these when queuing up at the ferry port on the journey to the UK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Mike Well not to be pedantic but as I understand this minefield of regulation, when travelling outside the UK all GB registered vehicles need to show the GB flag/mark on the rear of the vehicle as a minimum. Whether that's a sticker or integrated into the numberplate doesn't seem to matter I think. The headlamp adapters for foreign vehicles coming to the UK has been rehersed and talked about on this forum many times. The point is that GB/UK right hand drive vehicles are supposed to alter their beams to comply with left hand drive road motoring requirements - that is not dazzling oncoming vehicles with UK dip beams at night. Our poor old police have got more than enough to do than to try to penalise non GB/UK vehicles. Although I think the arguement for truckers is that their beams dip vertically down so they are OK for all of europe. Another grumpy old man bit is that I hate to see posers with the euro headlamp stickers left on when driving here. Maybe they are lazy or just want to show off that they have been driving abroad. I think our police are more interested in pinging these posers than non UK drivers. Good thing too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Patricia - 2012-12-10 6:14 PM Breathalysers became law in France in July and police were to begin checking vehicles in November. This has now been postponed until March with, as another poster has already stated, the possibility that the law will not be enforced. Hardly surprised and even less surprised about the possibility of it being dropped altogether. It was a pretty daft ill thought out idea from the beginning. Apparently ex-President Sarkozy is a major shareholder in the company manufacturing them. *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 nowtelse2do - 2012-12-10 6:09 PM Cattwg - 2012-12-10 5:55 PM sheer lunar-see Don't bother, it's still under debate here as to wether it goes ahead I thought that the need to carry a breathalyzer in France became law 1st November this year. Has something changed? Cattwg :-D Yes, It's been deferred until March 2013 and also talk that it maybe dropped. Dave Glad I never bought one then :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Matrix Meanderer - 2012-12-10 7:39 PM Mike Well not to be pedantic but as I understand this minefield of regulation, when travelling outside the UK all GB registered vehicles need to show the GB flag/mark on the rear of the vehicle as a minimum. Whether that's a sticker or integrated into the numberplate doesn't seem to matter I think. The headlamp adapters for foreign vehicles coming to the UK has been rehersed and talked about on this forum many times. The point is that GB/UK right hand drive vehicles are supposed to alter their beams to comply with left hand drive road motoring requirements......... Matrix I wouldn't 'worry' too much about 'regulations'. I know it's part of a 'brits' mentality because we are so used to being told what to do, when to do, where to do, and how to do, by the dear old Nanny State. But it's an entirely different world across the pond and quite frankly I lost count of the number of vehicles with no GB sticker or plate. As for the headlight things...why bother unless you intend driving at night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 After trying everywhere in France to buy one I asked a Police Municipal person. She shrugged her shoulders and said " Do not bother, it is a stupid law by stupid people". So I never bothered. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I think it was Sarkozy's brother, or bro-in-law who owned the breathalyser firm. As for GB marks, the international requirement is still (AFAIK) a full white plate with black GB letters (although apparently big chrome GB letters stuck straight on the bodywork areacceptable on Minis and Rollers!). Within the EU, however, there's an agreement that the little blue one on the number plate is an acceptable substitute. Wonder what letters the new, independent Scotland will use?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Tony Jones - 2012-12-10 10:47 PM Wonder what letters the new, independent Scotland will use?? most of them seem to use 'Ecosse' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Matrix Meanderer - 2012-12-10 6:32 PM I bet a bottle of best vin rouge that like many laws in our beloved France this will be quietly dropped. As public opinion seems not to support it. Can you really see officers of the law demanding to see these items... It's perverse to suggest that French police would choose not to check for the carriage of a legally obligatory breathalyser. A high-visiblity vest and a warning-triangle became mandatory for motorists to carry in their vehicles while driving in France, and the imposition of the relevant regulations did not result in a new French Revolution. All the French people I've spoken to about this have bemoaned their national alchohol-related motor accident statistics and have said they were happy to comply with the breathalyser-carriage law if there's the possibility that it might reduce the carnage. The breathalyser law is simple enough to understand - as is the thinking behind it - so it's startling the amount of confusion, inaccurate statements and peculiar arguments it has provoked in the UK media (and on on-line forums). Given the (known) number of French motorists affected, it was predictable that problems meeting demand could occur, but logistical difficulties aren't insoluble. I had little difficulty obtaining breathalysers in France last June and they were widely available when I returned there in October. The only way of testing whether this law actually reduces the number of French alchohol-related motors accidents is to enforce it (ie. fine motorists for non-compliance). Having postponed enforcement until March 2013 on the basis that more time was needed for supply to meet demand, it would be a tricky political decision to postpone enforcement further or, even more dangerous, to revoke the law altogether. I can't see how there can be a halfway house with this - the law is on the French statute books, it's merely a matter of when to let the French police off their leashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I can't see why there is such aversion to this law. We went to France this year, walked into a supermarket and bought 2 breathalyzers for €1.99-1 for the van & 1 for the bike. These will sit there now until they expire datewise or the law is revoked (which I doubt) I don't intend to drink & drive so consequently I don't intend to use them-just CARRY them to conform with the law of the country I am visiting-the same applies with the A frame-I won't use it in Spain. As for the beam deflectors, GB sticker & High viz vest, once again it is the law to have these, Why not conform? We pay upwards of £50k for a van and refuse to pay £20 in total to comply with the law-words fail me! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Agree with all the comments and just like to confirm that we carry all the required items and they are all duly stored ready for action in the motorhome. You never know when and where somebody in authority will flag you down. So - yes why flout the law for a relatively few shillings when we are driving round in £50K plus vehicles. It just irks me to see others not complying but I guess we just have to live with that situation happy in the knowledge that it will not be us talking roadside to the police officer :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Matrix Meanderer - 2012-12-11 11:16 AM Agree with all the comments and just like to confirm that we carry all the required items and they are all duly stored ready for action in the motorhome. You never know when and where somebody in authority will flag you down. So - yes why flout the law for a relatively few shillings when we are driving round in £50K plus vehicles. It just irks me to see others not complying but I guess we just have to live with that situation happy in the knowledge that it will not be us talking roadside to the police officer :-D and you can thumb your nose as you drive past thinking that spending £20 probably saved you £200 in fines! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 colin - 2012-12-10 10:52 PM Tony Jones - 2012-12-10 10:47 PM Wonder what letters the new, independent Scotland will use?? most of them seem to use 'Ecosse' "Billynomates"..................... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Not independent yet, but I have SCO on number plates, and Ecosse on the sticker. I have also seen English flag (St George) and ENG on number plates! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Neither of these is actually a legally-permitted substitute for GB plates though, whereas (within the EU) the little blue panel on the numberplate ("GB" with circle of stars) IS. Don't know about the Scottish equivalent, but my impression is that most drivers displaying the St George version are making an anti-EU statement. They're perfectly free to do that, but they then need a full-size GB plate if they cross the water. Of course, whether an independent Scotland would be part of the EU is still unclear! Imagine us English pottering around the Continent perfectly legally with little blue signs on our number plates, but having to buy full-size GB plates to pop up to Gretna! And once Scotland leaves the UK, would "GB" still be an accurate description of England and Wales anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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