France Breathalyser Update

France Breathalyser Laws

Update 7th October 2012: Shortage of tests means the start of fines is delayed until March 1 and Interior Minister Manuel Valls says he will meantime evaluate the usefulness of the law – let’s hope it is scrapped!

Breathalyser Update

Further to earlier articles on the new road traffic laws for France in 2012, it has been confirmed that new law in France requiring drivers to carry a breathalyser in their vehicles (known in France as “alcootest” or “ethylotest”) will apply not only to cars but also to motorbikes and scooters.

Motorbikes, Cars and Scooters

The government site “Service-Public.fr” confirms that from July 1 2012 drivers and riders of ALL motorised vehicles will have to carry a breathalyser. This includes cars, commercial vehicles, motorbikes and scooters but excludes ‘motocylettes’ which can be pedalled.

The alcootest must be unused and, if it is not one with indefinite shelf life, the “use by” date must not have expired.  Alternatively an electronic test capable of reuse can be carried – but the authorised versions of these cost upward of 100€ at present, so most bikers and drivers will opt for the throwaway, “blow-in-a-bag” type.

The single-use breathalyser kits are intended to be used by the driver to check their alcohol level before they attempt to drive – it is already compulsory for late night bars and restaurants to have such tests available for customers.  If the driver or rider uses it before driving then he must have another, unused one to produce if stopped by the police.

The law applies to anyone driving on French roads, including foreign visitors and holidaymakers.  From November anyone caught without a breathalyser will face an €11 on-the-spot fine – until then the police will only be issuing warnings about the new road law.

The kits can currently be bought from pharmacies but should soon be widely available in supermarkets and service stations.

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New “Blue Zone” Parking Rules in France

Changes to “Blue Zone” Parking Rules and Parking Discs

Yet another change to traffic regulations in 2012 has seen the introduction of a new style of parking disc in France to replace the old version from January 1st.

Old French Parking Disc

“Blue Zones” are designated parking areas in towns where you can park for free, but only for a certain period of time. It is compulsory to display a “parking disc” to show your arrival time – failure to do so may result in a fixed parking fine.

Until January 1st 2012 in France the permitted length of time you could park in “Blue Zones” had universally been fixed at a maximum of one and a half hours, and parking discs had two windows showing the arrival and departure time.

The new discs, however, have one window to show the arrival time only, the permitted period for parking now being decided by the individual town or commune and displayed on a sign in the parking zone – it could be any period, longer or shorter than the old convention of one-and-a-half hours.

New French Parking Disc

The new parking disc can be bought from newsagents (“maisons de presse”) or tobacconists (“tabacs”) and the price is generally under 5 euros.  Failure to use the new version of the disc will result in a standard 17€ parking fine.

The European version of the parking disc, similar to the French but oblong, is also now legal in France.

More information:

http://www.disques-de-stationnement.eu/page_2.html

http://www.cogolin.fr/la-mairie/nouveau-disque-de-stationnement-en-zone-bleue/

Where to use a parking disc

Blue Zone Parking Sign

Blue parking zones are usually indicated by a sign similar to the one shown here – note the little B&W cryptogram of the parking disc in the bottom corner.  Unless an additional sign says otherwise, the time when you have to display a blue zone disc is Monday to Saturday (Sundays are exempt) between 9am and 6pm.

If an additional sign specifies days of the week, a period of the month,  different hours etc., then those apply instead of the general rule.

Sometimes there may be dates shown in the blue part of the circle – these indicate specific dates on which the restrictions apply (see example at end of article).

In this example on the left, the restrictions apply Monday to Friday from 9am to midday and from 2pm to 7pm, and on Saturday from 9am to midday.  They do not apply on Sundays, holidays or during August.  The period you’re allowed to park here is specified as 1.5 hours.

Another sign you may see to indicate a Blue Parking Zone is this blue one.  In this example the disc must be displayed from Monday to Saturday between 8am and 7pm and parking is limited to 10 minutes.

Blue Parking Zone Sign

Finally …

Don’t confuse disc parking zone signs with the similar signs for “No Parking”!  The disc zones have a B&W cryptogram of a disc in the bottom corner.

Disc Parking Zone - parking allowed with a disc on alternate sides of road in first and second halves of month

No Parking Zone - at any time

No Parking Zone - but parking allowed on alternate sides of road in first and second halves of month

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Breathalysers Compulsory in Cars in France – Start Date July 2012

France Breathalyser Laws

Update 7th October 2012: Shortage of tests means the start of fines is delayed until March 1 and Interior Minister Manuel Valls says he will meantime evaluate the usefulness of the law – let’s hope it is scrapped!

Further to my earlier article on the new road traffic laws for France in 2012, I have learned that the new breathalyser law (“alcootest”) should come in to force on July 1st 2012.

The date has been pushed back from the original planned date of April 1st to give manufacturers time to produce enough of the kits to meet demand.

The single-use breathalyzer kits are intended to be used by the driver to check their breath alcohol level before they attempt to drive – it is already compulsory for late night bars and restaurants to have such tests available for drivers.

The law requiring all vehicles to carry a breathalyser test will apply to anyone driving on French roads, including foreign visitors and holidaymakers.  Anyone caught without a kit will not immediately face the €11 on-the-spot fine as police will only start issuing fines from November 2012 – until then they will only issue warnings about the new road law.

The kits can currently be bought from pharmacies but by July are expected to be olso on sale in supermarkets and service stations.

http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/article.php3?id_article=4036

Obligation de posséder un éthylotest à bord de son véhicule

Faisant suite à l’annonce du Président de la République le 30 novembre dernier, reprenant une des propositions de la mission d’information parlementaire sur la sécurité routière, un projet de décret a été examiné par le Conseil d’État visant à ce que “Tout conducteur d’un véhicule terrestre à moteur, à l’exclusion d’un cyclomoteur, doit [doive] justifier de la possession d’un éthylotest, non usagé, disponible immédiatement”.Ce texte va être publié dans les semaines qui viennent. Cette mesure, entrera en vigueur au 1er juillet 2012 afin de laisser le temps aux fabricants d’adapter leurs capacités de production. Cependant, le défaut de présentation d’un éthylotest lors d’un contrôle routier ne sera sanctionné qu’à compter du 1er novembre 2012 par une amende de 11 euros. Pendant cette période transitoire, il sera demandé aux forces de l’ordre de rappeler cette nouvelle obligation si celle-ci n’était pas suivie par le conducteur contrôlé.

Concernant les modalités de mise en œuvre, alors que le texte prévoit l’obligation de détention d’un seul éthylotest, il sera fortement recommandé, pour en favoriser l’usage, d’en disposer de plusieurs à bord de son véhicule. La vente par paquet des éthylotests chimiques permettra de répondre à cette recommandation, outre le fait qu’elle permettra réduire le prix unitaire.

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New Laws for Drivers and Motorcyclists in 2012

Update 7th October 2012: Shortage of tests means the start of fines is delayed until March 1 and Interior Minister Manuel Valls says he will meantime evaluate the usefulness of the law – let’s hope it is scrapped!

New Driving Laws in France

As of January 5, 2012, a number of new measures affecting motorists and bikers in France were announced by the Minister for the Interior.

These driving law reforms were first announced by President Sarkozy on November 30, based on decisions made in spring 2011 by the Interministerial Committee for Road Safety.

All Motorists and Bikers

Possessing any radar warning device illegal in France

The possession, transport and use of GPS radar warning devices which correlate data on the position of the radar with the  position of the vehicle calculated by the GPS is now prohibited.  Usage is subject to a fine of 1,500 euros, licence penalty 6 points and the confiscation of the device or vehicle if the device is attached to it.  The use of “active” radar detectors has always been illegal.

However, warning of dangerous and accident-prone areas which are not simply radar traps is still allowed, and these can be legally downloaded to your GPS.  Radar checks, both fixed and mobile, may “coincidentally” be among these but manufacturers have pledged not simply to report the location of radars, so the number of identified hazard areas will be far higher than the number of radars to encourage motorists to moderate their overall speed.

Driving while distracted by other activities

This decree increases the sanctions against the use of a hand-held phone. The fine goes up from 35 to 135 euros and licence penalty from 2 to 3 points.

The police have reported that some “foreign truck drivers” watch TV while driving, so watching a screen device operating in the field of vision (other than a driver assistance and navigation type GPS) by the driver of a vehicle in motion, now becomes liable to a fine of 1500 euros (instead of 135 euros) and the licence penalty of 3 points (instead of 2 points).

Other new measures

For a license plate that does not comply in terms of typeface and spacing the fine increases from 68 to 135 euros.

Straying even momentarily into the autoroute emergency lane, fine of 135 euros and licence penalty three points.  This follows cases of vehicles drifting out of control due to inattention or drowsiness.

Car Drivers

Compulsory to carry a breathalyser in the vehicle

The minister announced that from a date to be fixed (probably 1 April 2012) all cars must carry an alcohol breathalyser test.  Simple test kits can be bought from pharmacies, service stations and some supermarkets for under 2 euros, or electronic ones from about 10 euros. There are even small electronic key ring versions for about 6-8 euros.  Motorists who fail to carry an alcohol test device in the car will incur a fine of 17 euros.  The breathalyser joins the list of existing mandatory equipment for vehicles – safety vest and triangle emergency warning.  The existing fine for missing these is 135 euros for (90 euros if the fine is paid on the spot).

Failure to use, disabling or failure to maintain in working order an alcohol lock where the vehicle is fitted with one is now punishable by a fine of 750 euros. The Highway Code states that any driver of a vehicle equipped with a mandatory alcohol lock device must use this prior to starting the vehicle.

Motorcyclists

Not later than 1 January 2013, all riders or passengers of a motorcycle with a cylinder capacity exceeding 125 cc or a vehicle of category L5e (e.g.trike) exceeding 15 kW, must wear reflective clothing complying either to French standards or to other standards of an equivalent level of safety.

The reflective area can be divided in several parts over the clothing, but must have a total surface area of ​​at least 150 cm2 visible to other road users.  The material does not have to be fluorescent – only reflective -  and the colour is not fixed – it is likely that material that appears red, green or even black in daylight will conform as long as it reflects in headlights at night.

The reflective material must be worn on the upper body, between the belt line and the shoulders, so as to be visible to other road users.

The Ministry of Transport might in 2012 also make compulsory the wearing of gloves and shoes deemed suitable for driving a bike – this has to be decided.

Source material (in French)

The measures are laid out in the speech given by the Minister of the Interior on the 5th January here :

http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/article.php3?id_article=4025

and there is a good summary here:

http://www.net-iris.fr/veille-juridique/actualite/29047/entree-en-vigueur-de-nouvelles-mesures-ameliorant-la-securite-routiere.php

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