| Breathalyzer
law to be introduced from March 1st 2013, and be extended to Scooter
Riders as well:
Breath test law should be pursued
February 14, 2013
ROAD safety authorities have urged the
government to press ahead with plans to make breathalysers
compulsory in vehicles - but they say a fine is not necessary.
The Conseil National de la Sécurité Routière met yesterday and
voted in favour of the breathalyser law, which was originally due to
come into force last July and was delayed twice - to November and
then March.
The group acknowledged that there were still
doubts about the effectiveness of the breathalysers, but recommended
that the obligation to have one in vehicles should be pursued - and
extended to scooter riders.
At its meeting yesterday the
CNSR also recommended bringing back warning signs announcing the
presence of speed cameras. They were dug up last year, but a number
remain in place, alongside new "radars pédagogiques" which display a
vehicle's speed but do not issue fines.
The number of people
killed on French roads fell by 8% in 2012. Alcohol remains the
primary cause of fatal accidents.
French saga will leave you
breathless
DID you know you must, by law, carry a breathalyser in your car
while driving in France after July 1, writes Mike Scialom?
That’s the good news, the not-so-good news is that there are only
two registered global suppliers of this piece of kit: one is in the
UK, the other in France.
The UK supplier is called AlcoDigital, and the firm is struggling to
meet demand. AlcoDigital is the company behind the award-winning
AlcoDigital 3000 Digital Breathalyzer that recently won top honours
in the 2011 What Car? Breathalyser Review, and already supply a wide
range of breathalysers from companies like Draeger and AlcoHawk
through their website
www.UKBreathalysers.com. Right now AlcoDigital is operating a
“first come, first served” operation on its sales, as I discovered
when I spoke with the firm’s managing director.
“The bottom line is that you need an approved breathalyser in your
car while driving in France from July 1,” he explains. “We’re
finding most people are buying about five. The main message is that
if it hasn’t got ‘NF’ approval it’s not valid,
 and
we’re looking to motoring organisations to give us a stamp of
approval of some sort because ‘NF’ doesn’t mean anything to anyone.”
Well, ‘NF’ stands for ‘National Francaise’ and it’s the equivalent
of a Department of Health approval in the UK. So now you know.
Driving through France requires
motorists to carry breathalyzer kits
As from July (enforceable from Nov 1st) a new regulation will
require all drivers visiting France will need to carry a
breathalyser in their cars, the rules apply to anyone travelling to
or through France by car in the summer holiday season even just for
a day trip
IAM ( the Institute of Advanced Motorists) is advising motorists in
France to have at least two breathalysers at all times, so that if
one is used you still have one to produce for the police if you are
stopped. Neil Greig, director of policy and research said “the new
French rule is a genuine attempt to reduce the number of alcohol
related-accidents. France’s lower limit means it’s very easy to be
over the limit the morning after as well. As always, the best advice
for motorists is not to drink and drive at all.”
The legal limit in France is 50 mg per 100 ml of blood lower than in
the UK (the UK limit is 80mg).
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Chronic
Stock Shortage Hits |
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Not surprisingly,
given the need to produce in excess of 50 MILLION kits (over
10 times that of a normal YEAR, in just nine months) stocks
of approved kits have now hit chronic proportions.
Redline
and Contralco, the only two manufacturers of the approved
kits are working flat-out to produce as many kits as
possible but equipment breakdowns and panic-buying is making
the situation worse.
Contralco
have new machinery coming online in late May/early June that
will increase their capacity ten-fold but even then the
shortages are likely to continue well into the winter and it
is probably that unless drivers have already placed orders,
they will struggle to be able to purchase a kit once the
November 1st deadline approaches.
All NF kits
have a fixed shelf life of two years however and now that
the November 1st "Enforcement Date" has been officially
confirmed by the French Government, many motorists are
instead opting to place firm orders now for kits to be
delivered in October. That way they maximise the shelf life
of their kits while ensuring that they will definitely have
a kit in the car in time for the introduction of the
regulations.
Pre-planned
ordering of kits gives the motorist approximately 20-25%
longer life time out of the kit before it needs replacing,
and allows production in the factory to be pre-scheduled for
more efficient production and dispatch.
For
details of how to pre-order your kit for delivery in
October, Click Here.
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Photo credit: Geraint Rowland
Government confirms
new breathalyzer law
Published: 01 Mar 2012 12:56 GMT+1
The French government announced
officially on Thursday that all cars must carry a single-use
breathalyzer kit from November 1st. The move, which has been widely
reported for some time, was made official in a decree on February
28th and published on Thursday.
"Every driver of a motorised land vehicle, excluding mopeds, must
possess an unused and immediately available breathlyzer," said the
decree, published in the official gazette ("Journal Officiel de la
République Française").
Transport ministry officials told The Local that the rule would
apply equally to vehicles from outside France. July and August are
busy months on the French roads as millions of French people and
tourists head for their holiday destinations.
A fine of €11 ($15) will be charged to anyone not carrying the
breathalyzer kit, but police have been told to start fining only
from November 1st.
The new law is the latest attempt to reduce France's road accident
rate. Around 4,000 people died on French roads in 2011, a very
slight improvement on the figure for the year before. Drink driving
is believed to be responsible for one in three road deaths.
The government hopes having a kit in the car will allow people to
test themselves and to give them the means to test others if they
suspect they are over the limit. The legal blood alcohol limit in
France is 0.5 grams per litre.
President Nicolas Sarkozy promised the measure in November in the
hope of slashing drink driving, responsible for 31 percent of fatal
road accidents. Disposable breathalysers have been available in
French bars and nightclubs since then.
New coaches have been equipped with breathalyser tests that prevent
drivers starting the ignition since January 2010. The devices are to
be installed in all coaches by the start of the 2015 school year.
A total of 3,970 people died on French roads in 2011, down barely
0.5 percent or 22 lives compared to 2010. When Sarkozy came to power
in 2007 he set the government the ambitious target of reducing
annual road deaths to 3,000 by 2012.
The new breathalyzer requirement will be added to the existing rules
compelling drivers to carry a warning triangle and a fluorescent
safety vest. Failure to have these in the car can lead to a €90
fine.
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