From July 1st anyone driving in or through France will be required to carry a breathalyser kit. European couriers and hauliers must ensure they have a single-use disposable kit in their vehicle or risk a fine.
The new rule is aimed at reducing drink-driving problems in the country which were responsible for around 4,000 deaths last year. It is believed that police will not be enforcing the rules or fines until November, but couriers are being urged to purchase the kits now and get into the habit of ‘self-testing’ before driving if they have been drinking the night before.
The kits cost less than £3 and the Freight Transport Association believe French Police will use their own, more sophisticated testing kits if they suspect someone exceeds the drink-drive limit. However, the kits only last around two years so they will need replacing regularly.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, especially if you are a European Courier who regularly travels to or through France. Do you think the initiative will have any effect? Should the UK bring in similar rules? Leave a comment below, or let us know on Twitter or Facebook.
One Comment
There has been some confusion about the French laws. It comes into force in July but the police have discretion to only issue warnings until November when the fines will be immediate and compulsory. However, we are hearing reports of British drivers already being stopped by the French police and warned to buy breathalysers.
There are only two makes that have been approved by the French standards body and carry the NF standard (the equivalent of our BSI). At AlcoSense we launched the AlcoSense Singles NF to meet this standard and it carries the NF kite mark. They sell in cigerette-size packs of two for £4.99 and are available nationwide in branches of Halfords or online from our website.
The NF has only approved single-use, disposable breathalysers. We are finding that some people who travel to France regularly are preferring to buy one of our reusable units (for sale in the UK but also able to give a reading at the French drink-drive limit). If they have been drinking they can use this to test themselves the morning after to see if they are safe to drive and still keep a pack of the disposable units unopened in their car to satisfy the French law. This way they do not need to keep replacing the NF units.