Driving In France

[Cyrus42]

Hi,

I'm off to France for a short break and will be hiring a car while over there.

Some time ago, I understand that the French introduced a law to say that you had to carry a breathalyser kit in your car. It was later reported that legislation regarding penalties for not carrying one had not been passed.

Presumably this means that you don't need to have a breathalyser kit in your car.

Does anyone have any recent experience of driving in France without one?

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

I drove twice in France last week without a breathalyser. No problem.

An expat English couple living in France told me last summer that this law was unenforceable so was quietly forgotten, but I don't have official word on this.

Anyone else know?

Like probably quite a few others here I bought the RAC Europe kit which included breathalysers, so I feel cheated...grrrr!

 

[boxbrownie]

The last I heard was that it had been dropped, not sure if the AA or RAC are up to speed on it yet, or even if I was told a porky.

But yes, it's a tourist money trap.

 

[pipmk]

The position is confused,the law is still in force but is not being enforced. As the kit is only about 2E in the hypermarkets in France and it applies to the French too it is hardly a "tourist money trap" unless you are daft enough to buy them at the port from the English sellers. For the sake of a couple of euros I would rather have them in the car in the event of being stopped.

It looks like speeding offences in the Eu will soon be transferrable to the UK. Good! Having spent the last 2 months in France the driving of many English made me ashamed. A French childs life is just as valuable as an English one.

 

[baxlin]

Are the kits single-use?

If so, how many do you have to have? Because if you have one in the car, and have to use it, you then haven't got one. So it wouldn't matter if you passed or failed, you still wouldn't be able to drive legally! So keep two? Three?

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

The original French response to this question was to always carry two, their rationale being that if the French police made you use one of them then you still had one in the car, thus keeping within the law of always having one in the car.

Of course, the inconvenient response to this advice is 'what happens if I get stopped and have to use both of them?'

Answers on a postcard please

Why the French police can't follow the same system as the uk police, i.e. the police themselves carry their own breathalyzer, I don't know. A cynical person might surmise that it makes more money for the corporations that make and sell them.

 

[davidjpowell]

It's not enforced. Forget about this one.

Don't forget the other essentials though. GB, spare bulbs. yellow jacket accessible to driver....

 

[Spinal]

They've now passed the law for the penalties, and are enforcing them... I had my kit checked in Fontaineblaue during Easter (but as part of a larger check - they asked to see bulbs, high vis vests, etc during the course they asked if I had a breathalizer).

That said, I'm told the fines are around 11 euros... so not really wallet breaking!

M.

Edit: The AA are quite clear:
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/driving-abroad-whats-new-2012.html

Looks like the 11euro fine has been postponed again - so while a legal requirement to carry one, they can't really fine you for not carrying one...

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I still carry 2 breathalysers, bought them 3 years ago so might as well.

Forgot my GB badge, left it stuck on the washing machine (magnetic).

Hi-Viz a given but never bothered with bulbs other than a few I have knocking about in the glovebox. Aren't most of mine LEDs anyway?

 

[boxbrownie]

The position is confused,the law is still in force but is not being enforced. As the kit is only about 2E in the hypermarkets in France and it applies to the French too it is hardly a "tourist money trap" unless you are daft enough to buy them at the port from the English sellers. For the sake of a couple of euros I would rather have them in the car in the event of being stopped.

It would have been had the law been inforced from the start as intended, as there was virtually no notification beforehand of the implementation, I know as where I used to work the young lady in the office next to my area was controller of all the fleet vehicles in europe, she found out by chance, and she dealt with the EU authorities directly!

The money trap would have been the fines, not the few euros for the kits

 

[boxbrownie]

I still carry 2 breathalysers, bought them 3 years ago so might as well.

Regs.........

"The breathalyser produced has to be in date - single-use breathalysers normally have a validity of twelve months"

They got you there then

 

[Cyrus42]

Thank everyone for your posts

Looks as though it's worth taking the risk or buying a cheap kit in a hypermarket

 

[flango]

As Spinal says law has been passed and checks are made, I had my hi Vis and breathalyzers checked at Calais just after Easter

Rules are different in European countries so I follow the most strict ones which means a Breathalyzer for every seat so 5 for me and also a hi vis jacket per seat so again 5.

Fines for not having breathalyzers are low but for not having hi vis can be quite high depending upon the country you are in

French cops do carry breathalyzers like UK cops so the rule and legislation is just nonsense and a tourist trap, that's why I never go to France unless I have to, great country but full of French

 

[GP801]

I was subject to a random check at the Chambery toll booth. Officers were very polite but very thorough in checking the paperwork, vehicle and legal requirements were met. They also asked how much cash I was carrying. Apparently only allowed 10,000 euros. (No I did not have anything like that much but I guess second home owners paying workers in cash might have)

 

[st13phil]

Thanks for the update regarding the breathalysers being checked in France recently. The situation has been changing almost weekly for the last couple of years so although I bought a kit when this malarkey first started it's now out of date. I'll consider getting another kit, but may just stump up the €11 if stopped. Oh, and it's absolutely true that it was the breathalyser manufacturers that actively lobbied for the law so as to increase their sales volumes.

Something that hasn't been mentioned is that most EU countries other than the UK require you to carry and produce if requested original and not copy documents, including the vehicle registration document (V5). If you do not hold the V5 yourself - for example it's a company car - then you absolutely must carry a certificate of authority from the lease company in lieu of the V5.

...great country but full of French

Ain't that the truth

 

[BTB 500]

Rules are different in European countries so I follow the most strict ones which means a Breathalyzer for every seat so 5 for me and also a hi vis jacket per seat so again 5.

We do carry 5 high vis but with 3 young kids in the car we would hopefully get away with 2 breathalysers?!

 

[meeeb]

that's why I never go to France unless I have to, great country but full of French

Ain't that the truth

What's wrong with them? Maybe your communication skills are inadequate? Personally I have more issues with ignorant Brits.

 

[st13phil]

Wind your neck in. The French and the Brits have been "friendly enemies" for centuries. All my French friends can laugh with me at their own stereotypical behaviour in the same way I can laugh at mine with them.

 

[Spinal]

Another one worth knowing is that some of the speed cameras on the "autoroute des anglais" (brit highway) are linked to the police at the last tollbooth before Calais (look at the little pit-stop type thing after the toll booth)

They actively pull over cars that are caught speeding, and demand you pay the fine on the spot (but will happily bring you to a cashpoint if you don't have the 200-odd euros in cash).

Royal pain in the rear... especially after you've been driving for 12+ hours. On the bright side, I've never seen them there before 7am or so, so depending on your driving style, may be worth adjusting your chunnel timings...

M.