A new French law now requires tourists to carry a small single-use portable breathalyser or risk being fined £9. The act, that is due to go into effect in June, has attracted criticism from leading car associations.
The government recommends that tourists should carry at least two versions of the gadget so they have a spare kit available if they are stopped. French police will still carry a breathalyser for roadside tests but say there is a ‘grace period’ until November before penalties are introduced.
The kit, that costs £2, is intended to be used to reduce the number of drink driving incidents because holidaymakers do not realise that the French drink driving limit is much lower than the UK limit. Motorists that are above the limit will be fined between £112 (135 Euros) and £3,744 (4,500 Euros) depending on how much over the limit they are and may also risk losing their licence and facing up to two years jail time. The AA has called the device ‘misleading’ stating that the readings can be up to 40 minutes slow, because of the time it takes for alcohol to be absorbed into the blood stream after the last sip.
The scheme has also attracted its fair share of critics including the Association of British Drivers branding the law a ‘cash cow for the road safety industry’ and is designed to only make money from unsuspecting tourists. They also criticised France’s increasingly complicated driving requirements which means motorist are required to carry around several items include a high visibility jacket, converted headlamps and a fire extinguisher.
Another recently introduced law banned the use of satellite navigation systems that showed the locations of speed camera, motorists can be fined 1,500 Euros even if the device wasn’t currently in use.