We were in a branch of Norauto this morning and suddenly they have like sachets of 1€ breathalysers at the tills. Whilst we waited I took a close look at the roughly 4pt type on the wrapper. They have a limited life, so using an expired one is naturally breaking the law. Do I smell a profit making scam?
Will one have to carry 2 or more, in case you are stopped,tested, and found negative. What happens if you're stopped a second time, before you reach your destination?
interesting glen. I was once stuck in a sans permis tailback coming along the river after badefols, direction le buisson, on my way home of a sunday morning. once round the final bend a considerable number of them stopped on verges just off the main road and a couple of chasse parkings and proved to be full of large, healthy men with hunting gear... it was one of those days that sounded like a military exercise. next morning, taking kids to school, I noticed neat little caches of plastic bags full of wine bottles, beer cans, and presumably stronger stuff. There had naturally also been the fleets of white vans, 4x4s and all else being one of those boar drive weekends where hunts from neighbouring communes are invited in. The detritus, tidy and carefully collected as it was, suggested that had a few gendarmes turned up that the national economy could have been boosted by the fines!
Will my driving be affected? Well, if laughing ironically whilst driving counts, then the answer is - of course!
as far as I'm aware you can still drive a "voiture sans permis" as it says sans permis. People have made a lot of money renting them to those who have lost their licences and yes they're very expensive compared to a normal car. I followed one for a while the other day which touched 90 kmh - gone are the days of lawn mower engines and 50 kmh max!
And you just have to carry a kit in the car, no one says you have to use it...!
The discussion we had in the village bar the other day suggested that you can still drive one without a licence. Only thing that stops more people getting them is the amazingly high price, more than some "normal cars".
The other thought I had about the new law is the fact that it says you have to carry one, not that you have to use it !
hi
Just read your post. Are you sure about the drunk driving(crazy) loop hole? Someone i know has just been banned for 6 months for drink-driving and has gone uot to rent one of those cars.....amazes me but c'est la vie ici maybe.
Good to know they've fixed that, I hear about loads of people getting sans permis cars, and they're always the type of people i would not trust with a shopping trolley
One point suddenly came to mind... how can a drunk driver of a sans permis car have points put on their licence, or be put off the road?? Scary stuff.
I agree, habitual drink drivers will continue to drink drive, and people like me, who hang up their keys if a drink is had, will continue to either drink, OR drive.
Money making rackets, people. Makes the world go round
I can see a scenario whereby you have blown in your nasty cheap little breathaliser, are stopped by the law and made to blow into their infinitely sensitive machine, and lo and behold, you are now over the limit.
Of course, you may have absorbed more alcohol as you were driving along, but I do agree with the rest of you that this is a total waste of time!!
Totally agree with you Glen. Most stupid regulation to date. I really can`t see the local hunters blowing into their little bags after their vin rouge aperos can you?? And then waiting on the verges until someone comes to pick them up when it says "don`t drive"! Unless the test is connected to the ignition in some way to prevent people driving if they are over the limit it will have no effect whatsoever.I`m a life long TT so having to put one in my car is laughable..but I will comply like a good law abiding person :)
What is the point of having an 11€ fine for not carrying one ? How much of a deterrent is that ? I haven't seen any mention of getting any points deducted but I may have missed that.
I don't think it is going to change anything at all
Will make no difference at all. Just another thing for the regular stop checks by the Gandarmes and fine you for not having one. I am also guessing they will have expirary dates on them so will need replacing.
Agree Glen, it won't change a thing. The only devices which are really effective are also extremely expensive - the ones fitted to coaches etc where you have to blow negative otherwise the vehicle won't start. I'll get one like everyone else and stuff it in the glove box and leave it there.