Lay My Hat

I see the law requiring an unused breathalyser kit to be carried in your car is to be suspended indefinitely from March this year - apparently they are now thought to be unreliable

Instead they are thinking of lowering the alcohol limit which will I suppose be as good as no drinking if driving.

Elena
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KathyG wrote:

My sentiments exactly !

Dominique

It appears they have changed their minds again and the law is to be reinstated.
http://www.thelocal.fr/page/view/france ... TJ08Vc_iSp

The slightly shambolic attempt to introduce a law making it mandatory for motorists in France to carry a breathalyser kit in their car, appears to have been resolved once for all.

The law, first introduced last summer, was suspended earlier this year by the Interior Minister Manuel Valls, before the government road safety advisory body then recommended it be re-introduced.

On Friday the French government followed their advice and resurrected the law.

However there is one significant change in that anyone caught without a breathalyser in their vehicle will not be punished after the government decided to scrap the proposed €11 fine.

How it will be enforced is still unclear.

Yes, what a shambles! This whole thing is very poorly thought out.

The very cheap hand-held devices are too unreliable/insensitive to be an accurate measure of actual bood alcohol levels, and levels will continue to rise in the body, depending on when the last drink was consumed.

This means upon leaving the bar you may be under the limit (pass test), but the alcohol is still being absorped by the body and your blood/alcohol levels continue to rise for 1 to 1.5 hrs afterwards.

These kits may lull people into a false sense of security.

So. Do we need to carry the kits - or not? If there is no fine for not having one why would I bother to have one?

I'm not, in principle, against the law itself but I have yet to see a breathalyser kit for sale - anywhere? I've looked in pharmacies when I visit, in supermarkets on my weekly shop, in hypermarkets on a fairly regular basis and even in the bricolages, builder's merchants etc. where I occasionally find myself. Even the vehicle spares shop didn't have any. If I saw one I would buy it but no-one seems to be selling them.

When I asked in my local pharmacy I was given a very meaningful Gallic shrug!

Before they make a law and start fining people they need to sort out the supply.

Gillian

£5.99 for two kits from Halfords!

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_226211

Not sure if the post to France.

There was a big basket full of them in the pharmacy in Briancon when I went to buy some stuff in January.

On 1st March (note, not 1st April) 2013 the décret (n° 2013-180 of 28 February 2013) was published in the JORF (page 3823) modifying Article R. 233-1 of the "code de la route"
In plain English this says : you MUST carry an unused, in-date, approved type breathalyser in your vehicle/on your motorbike BUT if you're found not carrying one there will be no sanction.

So YES you need to carry one but NO there are no penalties for non-compliance.

It's rare to find such a law in France for which there are no sanctions, the most-quoted one is for the obligation of adult French citizens to register on the electoral role (article 9 of the Electoral Code)

Circé wrote:On 1st March (note, not 1st April) 2013 the décret (n° 2013-180 of 28 February 2013) was published in the JORF (page 3823) modifying Article R. 233-1 of the "code de la route"
In plain English this says : you MUST carry an unused, in-date, approved type breathalyser in your vehicle/on your motorbike BUT if you're found not carrying one there will be no sanction.

So YES you need to carry one but NO there are no penalties for non-compliance.

It's rare to find such a law in France for which there are no sanctions, the most-quoted one is for the obligation of adult French citizens to register on the electoral role (article 9 of the Electoral Code)

But if you haven't got one and the Gendarmes are in a "bit of a mood" or its near the end of the month and they haven't met the targets on money collected ( as told to me by a sergeant in the force !) then they will find something else to get you on !

Does anyone know whether these kits would these be supplied with a hire car?

When I asked Hertz for one last year, Fleur, they said not yet because in August it was not yet law, but they would when it applied.

So presumably they would do so as it is a legal requirement (just as they provide reflective tabards already).

Mols

Thanks very much for the info.