Over the past several weeks, I have been forgetting to purchase a breathalyzer kit for our car. One of those errands that keeps getting pushed back until the deadline looms, forcing me to comply.
If you are not currently aware, residents and tourists much carry a breathalyzer kit (called a Éthylotest in French) in their vehicles as of today, July 1, 2012. The purpose of this new law is that drivers will test their alcohol level before driving.
Currently, the limit is set at 50 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, which is lower than the 80 mg / 100 ml of blood in Britain.
As with most new laws, this one has its critics. Gripes include:
- Tests are not accurate.
- Tests are not needed.
- Tests are benefiting the wrong people.
The last critique is due to the man responsible for persuading Nicolas Sarkozy’s government to adopt this law, Daniel Orgeval, playing on two teams. He lobbied for the law as the chief of the road safety group, I-Test, created merely eight months earlier. This same man also worked for the leading manufacturer of breathalyzer tests, Contralco. So he was telling the government about the need for breathalyzers, and selling them on his product. Needless to say, Contralco went from having deep financial problems to thriving. This law created a demand for five million tests a month. Orgeval’s marketing efforts really paid off.
Now everyone in France must carry around breathalyzers or risk having an 11 euro fine. The fine is due on the spot, so if you do not have a kit handy, make sure to stash some cash in your car in case you are stopped on one of those annoying routine stops. The controversy is that this test is widely believed to only be profiting the manufacturer and is not really to benefit the driver. I am not sure how true this claim is, but it is believed to not be accurate (as stated by France 24 news) and drivers can tell on their own when they are over the limit.
If the government really wants to eliminate drunk driving, they should require everyone to have one of those breathalizer tests that connects to the car’s engine. If the person is above the limit, the car does not start. It also does neat things like requiring you to breathe in at random to prevent you from having a friend start it for you. It is too expensive to require everyone to purchase it, but imagine if the government starts requiring all new cars to have this feature.
If you do not have a breathalyzer kit yet, you have until November before they start handing out fines. We are driving tomorrow to Marseille to have Juliana’s hips looked at (please cross your fingers for us that her hip dysplasia is gone) and will hopefully not forget to pick one up while we are out. I read a while ago in forums that people had the most luck finding them at pharmacies… at the time, no one had success at places like Carrefour. Did you buy one yet? Where?
On a positive note about this law, at least the fine is small. I would hate to be an uninformed tourist and get smacked with a heafty fine while on vacation.
By the way, there are two ways to spell it… breathalyzer and breathalyser.
You can find out more about the breathalyzer tests on Contralco‘s website – it even has a question and answer section (all in French).
Resources
Controversy hits France’s crackdown on drink driving
Ethylotest obligatoire: pénurie en vue et jackpot pour les fournisseurs
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