joeandwendybrewer Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Can anybody please advise me on the current position regarding the Law stating that Breathalyser test kit(s) must be carried in the vehicle. Is it enforced /scrapped/suspended. Many thanks JOBO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Ignore it. The law still exists in theory, but it was officially been confirmed by the Minister some months ago that no-one will be fined for not carrying one. So in practice it's been killed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Hi Jobo That last I heard of it this year, is that it is still a 'requirement' but that there is no penalty for NOT having one, no fine, nuffink!!!! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Save your cash the French public are not going to let this law work. After asking in about 20 shops over two years and not one of them having a single breathalyser in stock we have given up. Have been told by a French garage owner to forget it we have LOL. Good on the good old French.......... B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 joeandwendybrewer - 2013-07-28 3:48 PM Can anybody please advise me on the current position regarding the Law stating that Breathalyser test kit(s) must be carried in the vehicle. Is it enforced /scrapped/suspended. Many thanks JOBO. A legal requirement for motorists driving in France to carry a breathalyser in their vehicles became French law on 1 July 2012 - this law has NOT been repealed. A 4-month period of grace was allowed initially to permit motorists to obtain breathalysers. During that period the French police would not fine motorists found to be failing to comply with the law. From 1 November 2012, failure to carry a breathalyser would attract an €11 fine. For various reasons (eg. supply of breathalysers failing to meet demand) the 1 November deadline was extended by a further 4 months, with fining by the police not beginning until 1 March 2013. In January 2013 the 'fining date' for not carrying a breathalyser was put on indefinite hold awaiting a report on the scheme by the French road-safety committee Conseil National de la Sécurité Routière (CNSR). The report was made public on 13 February 2013 and included concerns about the untrustworthiness of the 'single-use' breathalysers' accuracy that had emerged as a result of independent testing. On 15 February 2013, Manuel Valls ( the French Minister of the Interior) announced that the 'fining date' would remain on indefinite hold. It needs to be said that, although the idea of a breathalyser-type safety-related law had been sketched into French motoring regulations for many years, its implementation had been driven by the Sarkozy government that was ousted from power in May 2012. Manuel Valls - a member of the new government and with no political imperative to support the breathalyser law - said that, for him, the breathalyser plan lacked credibility as far as reducing the alcohol-related French motoring accident numbers was concerned. As has already been advised, it would be possible for a new 'fining date' to be set some time in the future and (because the law has not been repealed) the French police can check (but not fine) motorists driving in France for not complying with the breathalyser law. Realistically though, as the French govenment, French police and French motorists have no interest in the 'self-testing' breathalyser scheme (and, being a unique experiment, there's no evidence to suggest it would actually reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents) it seems most unlikely that the scheme will be resurrected. To summarise then - motorists driving in France are required by law to carry a breathalyser in their vehicle, but there will not be a sanction or fine if they fail to produce a breathalyser should the French police demand this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Hi, and welcome, dont waste any money on buying a kit. The French are just ignoring it, the Police and the public. Save your money for some wine! But dont drink and drive. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faviola64 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I have written a review page on breathalyzer, in case you need to purchase one, please go through the review page to know their prices, customer reviews etc, the page is http://usemyreviews.com/breathalyzer-reviews/ Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Faviola64 - 2013-11-20 10:43 PM I have written a review page on breathalyzer, in case you need to purchase one, please go through the review page to know their prices, customer reviews etc, the page is http://usemyreviews.com/breathalyzer-reviews/ Thanks Another bleeding USA advert! Ignoring the fact that French police are currently not authorised to fine motorists travelling in France and not carrying an appropriate breathalyser in their vehicles, it needs to be emphasised that, to comply with the letter of the French law, any breathalyser bought/carried needs to conform to the relevant Norme Française. Anyone concerned about the French law and wishing to obtain a breathalyser should confirm before purchase that the device is NF-compliant. Buying a breathalyser marketed for use in the USA, the UK, etc. very likely won't be NF-compliant. A non-NF-compliant breathalyser may be useful if you want to check your alcohol level, but the device won't meet the specific requirements of the French breathalyser law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Not compulsory but worth having - buy it in France though as they're only a couple of euros there. We were on a deserted aire one evening last year and after a glass of wine we decided we should move somewhere else - one of those "gut feelings" that all was not quite right. Having the tester is handy, i was able to breathalise myself to ensure i was within the French limit before driving off... Just a thought.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 drako - 2014-01-07 3:16 AM Not compulsory but worth having... A legal requirement for motorists driving in France to carry a breathalyser in their vehicles became French law on 1 July 2012. This law has NOT been repealed, so motorists driving in France are still legally obliged to comply with that law. A 4-month period of grace was allowed initially to permit motorists to obtain breathalysers. During that period the French police would not fine motorists found to be failing to comply with the law. From 1 November 2012, failure to carry a breathalyser would attract an €11 fine. For various reasons (eg. supply of breathalysers failing to meet demand) the 1 November deadline was extended by a further 4 months, with fining by the police not beginning until 1 March 2013. In January 2013 the 'fining date' for not carrying a breathalyser was put on indefinite hold awaiting a report on the scheme by the French road-safety committee Conseil National de la Sécurité Routière (CNSR). The report was made public on 13 February 2013 and included concerns about the untrustworthiness of the 'single-use' breathalysers' accuracy that had emerged as a result of independent testing. On 15 February 2013, Manuel Valls ( the French Minister of the Interior) announced that the 'fining date' would remain on indefinite hold. It needs to be said that, although the idea of a breathalyser-type safety-related law had been sketched into French motoring regulations for many years, its implementation had been driven by the Sarkozy government that was ousted from power in May 2012. Manuel Valls - a member of the new government and with no political imperative to support the breathalyser law - said that, for him, the breathalyser plan lacked credibility as far as reducing the alcohol-related French motoring accident numbers was concerned. As has already been advised, it would be possible for a new 'fining date' to be set some time in the future and (because the law has not been repealed) the French police can check (but not fine) motorists driving in France for not complying with the breathalyser law. Realistically though, as the French govenment, French police and French motorists have no interest in the 'self-testing' breathalyser scheme (and, being a unique experiment, there's no evidence to suggest it would actually reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents), even if Nicolas Sarkozy should regain power it's unlikely that the scheme will be resurrected and the French police be given fining-authority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 As an interesting aside, I tried a French authorised breathalyser the morning after a particularly boozy pre-Christmas all day, all night party. I waited until 12 noon. No change in colour at all. Either I process alcohol very very efficiently, or it was faulty?. Rather like an alarm clock that doesn't work once - you can't trust it - might just as well throw it in the bin! I still have one which will accompany me in France just to satisfy M. Plod should I ever be stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldi Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Afternoon folks, Mine gets past its sell by date in afew weeks and will not be relacing. norm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 FWIW, last autumn we spent just over six weeks wandering from Calais to Alsace, then south to Provence via Burgundy, returning via Auvergne and Centre, and back to Calais. I looked for and enquired after "ethylotests" in every super we visited, and none were available. Don't know what significance to attach to that, other than the French supermarkets don't seem in any rush to re-stock (assuming they ever had stock!), and the supply chain didn't seem to have improved from 2012. Not a high priority item, it seems. Un canard mort, je pense! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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