Alcohol meters in all French cars

[danmand]

Driving through France requires motorists to carry breathalyzer kits

As from July 1st all drivers visiting France will need to carry a breathalyser in their cars, the rules apply to anyone travelling to or through France by car in the summer holiday season even just for a day trip
As from July 1st all drivers visiting France will need to carry a breathalyser in their cars, the rules apply to anyone travelling to or through France by car in the summer holiday season even just for a day trip.

IAM ( the Institute of Advanced Motorists) is advising motorists in France to have at least two breathalysers at all times, so that if one is used you still have one to produce for the police if you are stopped. Neil Greig, director of policy and research said “the new French rule is a genuine attempt to reduce the number of alcohol related-accidents. France’s lower limit means it’s very easy to be over the limit the morning after as well. As always, the best advice for motorists is not to drink and drive at all.”

The legal limit in France is 50 mg per 100 ml of blood lower than in the UK (the UK limit is 80mg). The breathalysers cost between £1 and £2 and will be available at ferry and tunnel terminals for crossings to France. It is intended that people will be able to test themselves to check whether or not they are over the French limit. Single-use breathalyser kits will satisfy this requirement.


By Geraldine Ashton Green, motoring.co.uk

 

[alexmst]

advising motorists in France to have at least two breathalysers at all times, so that if one is used you still have one to produce for the police if you are stopped.

So will the police use your unit for their own test of you? Can the units be hacked to show a level of 40 mg when one actually is blowing 90 mg?

 

[Fireflint]

Driving through France requires motorists to carry breathalyzer kits

As from July 1st all drivers visiting France will need to carry a breathalyser in their cars, the rules apply to anyone travelling to or through France by car in the summer holiday season even just for a day trip
As from July 1st all drivers visiting France will need to carry a breathalyser in their cars, the rules apply to anyone travelling to or through France by car in the summer holiday season even just for a day trip.

IAM ( the Institute of Advanced Motorists) is advising motorists in France to have at least two breathalysers at all times, so that if one is used you still have one to produce for the police if you are stopped. Neil Greig, director of policy and research said “the new French rule is a genuine attempt to reduce the number of alcohol related-accidents. France’s lower limit means it’s very easy to be over the limit the morning after as well. As always, the best advice for motorists is not to drink and drive at all.”

The legal limit in France is 50 mg per 100 ml of blood lower than in the UK (the UK limit is 80mg). The breathalysers cost between £1 and £2 and will be available at ferry and tunnel terminals for crossings to France. It is intended that people will be able to test themselves to check whether or not they are over the French limit. Single-use breathalyser kits will satisfy this requirement.


By Geraldine Ashton Green, motoring.co.uk

WOW! I'm in shock but due to the price tag. If I could find a breathalyzer for a couple of bucks, I'd buy 50.

 

[alexmst]

WOW! I'm in shock but due to the price tag. If I could find a breathalyzer for a couple of bucks, I'd buy 50.

Bars in Ontario should be required to make these available to patrons if they only cost $2.

 

[Babypowder]

Bars in Ontario should be required to make these available to patrons if they only cost $2.

especially since the BAC requirement is .05

 

[danmand]

advising motorists in France to have at least two breathalysers at all times, so that if one is used you still have one to produce for the police if you are stopped.

So will the police use your unit for their own test of you? Can the units be hacked to show a level of 40 mg when one actually is blowing 90 mg?

I believe the law in France will be to have them installed in all cars (as the Volvo system). Perhaps the breathalysers are for tourists and an intermediate step.

 

[Aardvark154]

Bars in Ontario should be required to make these available to patrons if they only cost $2.

At that price and single use I wonder how acurate they are particularly as one approaches .05

 

[alexmst]

I believe the law in France will be to have them installed in all cars (as the Volvo system). Perhaps the breathalysers are for tourists and an intermediate step.

The breathalysers cost between £1 and £2 and will be available at ferry and tunnel terminals for crossings to France. It is intended that people will be able to test themselves to check whether or not they are over the French limit. Single-use breathalyser kits will satisfy this requirement.

It would probably be prohibitively expensive and impractical to fit a permanent system on all existing cars in France. Perhaps new models sold in France could be required to have a permanent system, but it would be 20 years before such cars would be in widespread use. The disposable device that costs $2 and can be kept in the glove compartment makes more sense imo.

 

[alexmst]

At that price and single use I wonder how acurate they are particularly as one approaches .05

Yes, that is a good thought. In the .04-.06 range, where every .01 counts big time, are the disposable devices accurate to under .01?

I suppose if the police still use the expensive accurate devices a reading in the 0.4 and over range they would verify with their own device. The main advantage of the disposable would then be to alert one if one was way over the limit - so if the device says you are .09 or over, and the limit is .05, you know not to drive even if the device is only accurate to with 2 points.

Seems the manufacturers of the disposable devices might be setting themselves up for lawsuits in the U.S. if the accuracy range was say +/- 2 (if they were sold in the U.S. and required to be kept in a car by law), unless the manufactures got some kind of liability waver from the government.

Example: John goes to bar to drink. In his state the limit is .08...he tests himself after two drinks and blows .05...he has another drink and now blows .07...he decides he is at the acceptable limit and drives home. On his way he crashes into another car, injuring two people and killing a third. Police come and give him as test and he blows .09...and is charged with DUI causing death. John blames the device, showing his disposable with a reading of .07 and the bartender agrees he served him no more drinks after the self-test showed .07 The device manufacturer has a user manual that says the device is only accurate within +/- 2 points, so a .07 could really be a .09. The family of the dead files a civil suit against the manufacturer claiming the device gave an inaccurate low reading and that resulted in the death of Uncle Bob. The manufacturer's lawyers say that the manual said it wasn't overly accurate, and not their fault if John didn't read the manual. Bob is still dead though...and Bob wasn't drinking and did nothing wrong. What would a jury sympathetic to Bob's family in Nowheresville Ohio decide after John tearfully takes the stand and places all blame on the device that 'lied' to him and ruined his life as well as Bob's? Would they award money to Bob's family? Would they award damages 10% of the time...50%...90%? For this to ever work in the U.S. (government mandating the disposable devices be kept in cars and used after drinking) the government would need to give the manufacturers a free ride on legal liability for the +/-2, otherwise what manufacturer would ever make/market the product, and what insurance company would ever insure that manufacturer against awards of damages?

Now the +/- 2 is just a figure I made up, but you see my point from a product liability perspective as regards the U.S. market.