Many thanks for all that info Alsacienne.

John

Just to say that I bought two kits this afternoon from a chemist in the town centre ... 1.25€ each.

Do you have a brand name alsacienne please so I can ask my friend to look out for them when she is over in March.

ta! x

Alsacienne wrote:

There has been some discussion about this on this part of HT, and it seems to be somewhat unclear. I went to my local town hall and spoke to the head of our local police unit and this is what I learned.

The breathalyser situation is this. It will become law BY DECREE and this is due to happen on 1 MARCH (though this date may vary ...) and from this time you need to carry in your vehicle an unused FRENCH breathalyser. This is called an ALCOOLTEST, and must be produced to the FRENCH QUALITY STANDARDS (normes françaises) where the limit level of alcohol is 0.5 mg in your breath test. (A British kit will NOT do.)

These can be bought in chemists (PHARMACIES) and should cost around 1€.

If you are stopped by the police you will be fined if you don't have one (unused!) in your car, just as you will be if you don't have a warning triangle, first aid kit, high visibility jacket, spare fuses and spare bulbs.

This is now an essential piece of kit for your car/lorry/mobile home if you are driving in or through France.

Hi Alsa

Yet again your government has done something and is not telling the Tourists after our recent posts I decided to contact the Caravanning Club and the Caravan and Camping Clubs here in the UK

BOTH of them had heard the rumour and both of them came back with almost similar replies that it was un-likely to be law this year, one even commented that as it was a Presidential election year that it may dis-appear all together

Thanks for the info so I will get mine on the Ferry when we come over and I BET (and will win it ) that P&O will charge more than €1.25
P&O emailed for a price

Looking forward to September

I have just looked on the Brittany Ferries website. They are selling on-board the electronic alcohol breath tester at £24.99. I think it is poor service that they do not sell the ones spoken about here. A road safety issue such as this should not be about selling an expensive item it should be about selling what is required.

John

John what's required is a one-time use alcohol test kit .... I bought one for 1.25 € in a pharmacy in town, and then was annoyed to find the same thing on amazon.fr for much less!! Yes there are kits like the one you saw, but it's for 'repeated' use.

That`s my point Alsacienne. There must be many people who do not use forums such as this, where are fortunate to have people such as yourself doing the homework for us to clarify the requirement. They may hear about the law, see this for sale on the ferry crossing and spend £24.99 when in fact it is not what is required and costs many times more than they need to spend. That is why I am disappointed in BF.

John

Alsacienne

Can you post the link to the one you found on Amazon.fr as there is nothing stopping our members from ordering from that site?

Thanks

luci

http://www.amazon.fr/Ethylotest-a-Usage-Unique-test/dp/B006JO4PMA/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1329750064&sr=8-3-spell

The one I bought was a single edition of the item offered as a pack of 20 ... at a cost of 1.25 €.

I asked a couple of local Gendarmes about the amount of the fine that would be applied if one didn't have this item in one's car .... neither knew, and it was all too obvious that they were generally ill-informed. The younger man was certainly more clued up than his older (and senior) colleague!

I strongly advise motorists coming to or passing through France to get one of these as soon as conveniently possible on arrival ... many garages will be stocking them, also pharmacies (chemists) and some supermarkets. The French words you need are UN ETHYLOTEST A USAGE UNIQUE (ern - eth - ill - oh - test - ah - you - sah - juh - you - neek - seel - voo - play).

It's probably going to be a while before everything gets settled down about this legally especially as it's election year, BUT the law comes into effect this Spring. Better be safe than sorry and buy one ... it's cheap and will save you the cost of a fine - however much that will come to!

I guess if I go over again in April I need to get one

The media is catching up with HTs, but the implementation dates quoted by the Daily Mail may differ from those previously posted:

Going to France? Get a breathalyser

British holidaymakers driving to France this year should be warned they need to carry breathalyser kits in their cars to comply with new laws.

The gadgets, which allow drivers to test their own alcohol levels to make sure they are under the drink-drive limits, will be obligatory for all motorists in France from July, according to the Daily Mail.

The French drink-driving limit is 50mg, which is 30mg lower than in the UK. Drivers found with between 50mg and 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood can be fined €135 and gain six points on their licence. Drivers with more alcohol face fines of €4,500 and a two-year prison sentence.

Drivers caught without a kit - available from ferry and train terminals from £1 to £2 - could be fined €11, although police are not expected to start enforcing the fines until November.

With permission from Travelmole (21 Feb)

David HT Mod wrote:

The media is catching up with HTs, but the implementation dates quoted by the Daily Mail may differ from those previously posted:

The French drink-driving limit is 50mg, which is 30mg lower than in the UK. Drivers found with between 50mg and 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood can be fined €135 and gain six points on their licence. Drivers with more alcohol face fines of €4,500 and a two-year prison sentence.

Drivers caught without a kit - available from ferry and train terminals from £1 to £2 - could be fined €11, although police are not expected to start enforcing the fines until November.

With permission from Travelmole (21 Feb)

BE CAREFUL
I contacted P&O for the price they intend to charge bearing in mind Tabac's in France are charging 1€25 at present - - -£4.99 EACH

I did send them another email but they have chosen NOT to answer why they want so much - Scaredy cats

Well it was even mentioned on this week's Top Gear. They said that the rule comes in on 1st June.

OK so that's 3 starting dates in my collection!!! But fines will only be applied from November according to the bush telegraph (and the amount hasn't been stated!)

got an answer from the Caravan Club as an up date Alsacienne add another date to the list

Update to breathalyzers in France

At the time of going to print the law requiring motorists to carry a breathalyzer in their car in France has still not been passed. However, it is likely that it will be passed with a start date of the 1st July 2012, and be applicable to visiting motorists. It is also likely that drivers will need to carry two breathalyzers so that they have one available to use, and one to remain in the vehicle.

If the law is passed for 1st July French police are being encouraged not to issue fines for non-compliance until November 2012. The fine for not having a breathalyzer is approximately €11- €17.

The tests are available from most French pharmacies for approximately €2.00 each, and most ferry operators are planning to stock them in their on-board shops. Travel Spot LLP have twin packs available now for £4.99 plus P&P: http://www.travelspot.co.uk telephone 01462 499 646.

Note also the prices they are quoting are different yet again to those we have found

Just out of interest, I wonder where the Caravan Club got their information from? Perhaps they could pass it on to most of the police I've met and questioned!!

The first response from the Caravan Club was tagged with this header

Thank you very much for your recent e-mail, I have already contacted the legal department of the ACF (Automobile club de France) regarding this issue and below is their reply:

So I don't think they even contacted the French Authorities which is what I personally would expect

......... sad to say but my visits (on other matters -including international driving licences) to the Automobile Club of France in my home town have not filled me with much confidence about how firmly their finger is on the pulse .........

Hi Alsacienne. My collague is going to see if she can find me some when she takes our year 7s to France next week. They will do a Hypermarket visit (how else will the staff fill the bus with booze)! Do you have a brand name of perhaps a link to a website I can show her so she knows what to look for, she is a French teacher, (that is a teacher of French) so will be able to spot them if they are there.

ta.

PS did you get my email?