A French government minister today announced an inquiry into the much-derided law requiring alcohol testers to be carried in all vehicles, with the presumption that it will be thrown out.
The law was inntroduced last July but enforcement was put off until November, then next March. Supply problems have been massive since day one and today's announcement comes just as the devices are becoming more widely available at last.
A French road safety organisation has described the testers as inaccurate, unreliable and containing potentially dangerous chemicals.
It is said Sarkozy inspired the new law to help a manufacturer friend in money trouble. Presumably this guy's company has now been paid for nothing.
Ho hum...
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Supply couldn't have been that problematic, I bought a pair of them from a small independent car parts shop in Reading this June. Still in the glovebox, will throw them out if this gets confirmed.
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>> Supply couldn't have been that problematic, I bought a pair of them from a small
>> independent car parts shop in Reading this June. Still in the glovebox, will throw them
>> out if this gets confirmed.
Trust the UK sourced ones carried the French 'NF' approval mark Alanovich.
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Mais oui, mon ami.
Yours,
Joey Barton
;-)
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If they were so readily available in the UK it might explain why there were almost none over here!
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"Supply couldn't have been that problematic"
We spent 2 months in France this summer. After looking for the things in Calais and failing to find them, we continued South. One day, coming out of a hardware store, we saw some on the counter so bought a couple. We know loads of people in France - none of them had managed to buy any alco-testers and were amazed we had a couple. Most supermarkets/pharmacies/service stations had a sign saying that they were not available "due to supply problems". As usual, the French just shrugged their shoulders when asked about the problem!
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Common sense in France?! Hurray...
Couldn't see the logic in having to carry them by law: obviously if you use one for the intended purpose then you'll be short of the requisite number and breaking the law... Unless you always carry a minimum of three, but then you must always leave the last two, for no reason at all... Bizarre.
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The requisite number has only ever been one. So to comply with the law you can never risk using it!
I managed to buy two for an euro last June so I could put one in each car and forget about them - at least for two years, when they are supposed to be replaced. A few weeks ago I was pulled up and breathalysed in a random check. The gendarme didn't show any interest in whether there was one in the car.
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We bought a couple for our European road trip in August. One evening a month or so ago, after a couple of bottles of red wine, I decided to retrieve them from the glove box of the car so we could breathalyse ourselves for a laugh.
We followed the instructions to the letter, and both tests came back as under the legal limit. Which was unlikely, as there is no way I would have attempted to drive based on how I felt.
The stupid things don't actually work.
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>> The requisite number has only ever been one. So to comply with the law you
>> can never risk using it!
I would think the law would treat this in the same way as a requirement to carry spare bulbs. Of course you have to use it if you need it, but you'd have to replace it (like the spare bulb once installed to replace a faulty one) at the earliest opportunity thereafter. Why throw hands in the air and shout "ridiculous" when the spare bulb thing is exactly the same? That is considered by many to be a singularly good idea, and given the number of one eyed monsters here in the UK, I'd approve of such a measure in this country.
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There is no requirement under French law to carry spare bulbs.
There IS a requirement to be able to replace a blown bulb. So when one blows, you replace it, and you are doing what the law intends. No idea what the position is on the breathalysers.
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Same as UK law-it is illegal to drive with a bulb not working!!
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>> There IS a requirement to be able to replace a blown bulb. So when one
>> blows, you replace it, and you are doing what the law intends.
Which is a bit daft when the one thing stopping you doing that in many modern cars is not the presence or otherwise of a spare bulb, but lazy / incompetent mechanical design which prevents roadside bulb changes. Ironic too that French manufacturers are among the worst offenders.
Carrying a spare main beam bulb for a Scenic 2, to give just one example, is a complete waste of glove compartment space.
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>>.....in many modern cars is not the presence or otherwise of a spare bulb, but lazy / incompetent mechanical design which prevents roadside bulb changes.
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Tell me about it.
The easiest way to get at the bulbs on my MKII Mondeo is to remove a shield and the griil, then detach the whole headlight unit. I can now do it quite quickly but it does need a fat screwdriver and another tool.
Out of the fying pan.....
The X type forums are full of items on the poor headlamp access.
Starting with " You need a bent coathanger for the clips"
or " Remove the battery first " is a common suggestion.
Many advocate removing the bumper. This requires removing many ( rusty?) bolts on the under tray for starters.
I will find out soon when I upgrade all my front facing bulbs ( with conventional types) .
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"Don't bother buying breathalysers for France"
I wasn't going to!
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Common sense in France?! Hurray..."
The thing is that, in France, most of the locals show common sense and just ignore the daftest regulations and carry on as usual. In Britain we seem to view EU regulations as the letter of the law.......... ;-)
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It's just been reported that another piece of contentious French motoring legislation has been canned; the requirement for motorcyclists to wear a piece of hi-visibility reflective clothing, the spec being that it must be at least 150 cm2 in area.
The irony being that moped riders, whom one would presume to be the most vulnerable and numerous of the two-wheeled fraternity who would perhaps benefit most, were exempted anyway.
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Don't bother to buy breathalysers for France - Alanovich
