I'm a lawbreaker (1 Viewer)

[ericonabike]

My recovery company advised me at renewal that, from October, if travelling in France I'd need to carry a breathalyser with me in the vehicle 'OR RISK A FINE'. I've seen this elsewhere, with the operative date given as July. Is it just me? Or does anyone else think this is crazy?

The apparent reason for this is so that you can see if you're fit/unfit to drive. But to see if you're fit/unfit to drive, you have to have used the breathalyser. And so what possible use is it to have one in the car?

The cost of this will now gleefullky be added on to the 'driver's kit' the ferry companies try to flog you on board. With solemn warnings of how the French police are cracking down on miscreants. For the record, I've been driving in France on and off for the past 30 years - the list started off at just a spare set of bulbs, which being young and impressionable, I bought for my Mk11 Escort. On my second trip I was stopped by the police on a routine docs inspection - I handed these over, and waited expectantly [and a little smugly, truth be told] to be asked to present my bulbs for inspection. The order never came.

Since that time I have ignored every new addition to the list of 'must haves' whilst being sure always to carry the right documentation.

So, Funsters, what side of the loi do you stand on? And have you ever been asked to produce bulbs, hi viz, warning triangles or fluffy dice [one of those may be made up, but you never know...]

 

[Hollyberry]

Only been stopped once on a routine (possibly training) check as the gendarme looked about 14.
He asked me for something --I'd only been in France a matter of weeks so didn't quite catch what--so I handed him my cart gris, insurance, my passport, an electricity bill (well it was in the folder so why not?) and he very politely scrutinised them all but kept asking for something else and then it dawned........ driver's licence!! He glanced at that, said merci and waved me out into the road.
I have everything (triangles, bulbs, first aid kit, breathalyser) and hi-viz jackets not just for myself but also one for each dog. And they'll get shown the LOT if they stop me.

 

[Jim]

It's just a way of saving money, hundreds of thousands of tests blown each year means its probably a big saving for the Gendarmes.

The test kits are pretty naff, I had one Frankie gave me and blew into it on early Saturday morning (don't ask) . You fill the bag up with breath then attach the vial of crystals and push the breath through the vial. Not a single crystal changed colour, or maybe they all did very quickly but I'm sure, given the inconclusive test, that when looking into my bloodshot eyes and getting a facefull of breath the local French copper would not have trusted the result

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[yodeli]

:Blush::Blush::Blush: I am going to tell you a secret ...... it is on this forum that I happen to know what I had to have in my car ! (except for the jackets as it is quite recent) AND ...... I still don't have any spare bulbs.... Does it help ? Ohooo and have been stopped more than once ! Especially on the way Toulouse Andorra! Once I had no papers( only a smile on my face ...) they let me go no prob and the following week they stopped me again same place, same gendarmes , but I was in another car, and I was not the driver ... when the gendarmes saw me , they went laughing and laughing ... I showed them my papers this time but they forgot to ask the driver his papers Off we went ... not even controlled jacket or anything other thing!!Welcome to France

Amicalement

Frankie:Cool:

PS ..... At least ... have your papers ... it might help LOL !

 

[Road Runner]

:Blush::Blush::Blush: I am going to tell you a secret ...... it is on this forum that I happen to know what I had to have in my car ! (except for the jackets as it is quite recent) AND ...... I still don't have any spare bulbs.... Does it help ? Ohooo and have been stopped more than once ! Especially on the way Toulouse Andorra! Once I had no papers( only a smile on my face ... they let me go no prob and the following week they stopped me again same place, same gendarmes , but I was in another car, and I was not the driver ... when the gendarmes saw me , they went laughing and laughing ... I showed them my papers this time but they forgot to ask the driver his papers Off we went ... not even controlled jacket or anything other thing!!Welcome to France

Amicalement

Frankie:Cool:

PS ..... At least ... have your papers ... it might help LOL !

Once associated to JJ branded for life Frankie

Not that bad though, hell all you can eat Frey Bentos pies for life

What more can a girl possibly ask for:hug:?

 

[chesterfield hooligan]

Digital Analyzer Alcohol Breath LCD Tester Breathalyzer
EBAY Item number: 270577876818
delivered £2.98
had to wait as from China but OK
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[Jim]

I've never thought I might be asked for bulbs hi vis jackets like it was a military kit inspection, rather if I'm stopped by the old bill with a duff bulb and I can't immediately replace it, its then that they'll retrieve their notebook and do me for not having them.

Similarly, I've never been asked to prove I'm carrying warning triangles, but I'm sure if I was broke down and didn't have them placed where they should be then they'd ticket me.

 

[mondo]

Now correct me if I'm wrong...I usually am..but the spare bulbs thing I thought it had been waived..as to change a bulb now needs a mechanic and a fully equipped workshop...as it's not just drop the headlight unit out and swap the bulb but unscrew this that and the tother......

Or am I wrong!!!oh:

 

[Munchie]

I carry everything required. It is THEIR country I am in so out of respect I comply with their laws. Must be oldfartitis. :thumb:

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[ericonabike]

It is THEIR country I am in so out of respect I comply with their laws.:

Agree up to a point - but I cannot imagine the French being as eager to obey these particular laws as we seem to be. Looking at the battered old buses being driven around Paris, in particular, it beggars belief that they would all be carting around the ever-growing number of mandatory items!

And yes, I can see the possibility of a fine for a bulb/jacket/triangle not being used, rather than for non-possession. But I doubt my ability to change a bulb these days, and in the event of breakdown or accident I'd want to be off the carrigeway pronto rather than wandering around putting up warning triangles, with or without hi-viz!

Suspect it's probably me that's suffering old-fartitis...

 

[Hollyberry]

I have absolutely no idea how to change a bulb in a vehicle. I've been carrying round the same box of bulbs for at least 10 years in several different vehicles. But if the Gendarmes want to stop me and check I've got them, so be it. My French isn't great, I live here and don't want to receive nasty letters/fines/whatever they can do.


The breathalyser thing I don't really understand but as I last drank alcohol in (I think) 2005, can't see I'd ever need to use it. To have one in your vehicle, if the law does come into force in the summer, it must have the letters NF (normes france) on it. I paid €1.90 in a local Presse.

 

[slobadoberbob]

yes you are correct - spare bulbs not needed now

Now correct me if I'm wrong...I usually am..but the spare bulbs thing I thought it had been waived..as to change a bulb now needs a mechanic and a fully equipped workshop...as it's not just drop the headlight unit out and swap the bulb but unscrew this that and the tother......

Or am I wrong!!!oh:

You are right, you do not have to now have a spare bulb for the front light as many cars have large sealed units. Can find no mention about the rear bulbs.

Bob

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[JJ]

Now correct me if I'm wrong...I usually am..but the spare bulbs thing I thought it had been waived..as to change a bulb now needs a mechanic and a fully equipped workshop...as it's not just drop the headlight unit out and swap the bulb but unscrew this that and the tother......

Or am I wrong!!!oh:

City fans are never wrong Ray... just always in possession of false hope... eternal false hope despite almost permanent disappointment...

The last time I was stopped here in Portugal in the English plated Wagon, I produced my documents including an out of date insurance certificate (the valid one was still in the Uk)... but as we were so busy arguing about the merits of Christiano Ronaldo (I told them I though he was a girl, but we all agreed that the Spanish were "done" when they spent all that money for him) they gave my papers a cursory look and handed them back. They were all so happily surprised to find an Englishman trying to speak Portuguese that I was in no bother at all...

I reckon the most important thing to do when pulled over is to show respect and friendliness... asking with attitude in English "what did you pull me over for... I wasn't doing anything wrong?" is not likely to help much... (but then... no Funster would ever be like that would we?)

JJ :Cool:

 

[Bluemooner]

Next year it will be hard hats and safety boot oh and a harness just in case you start climbing a tree

 

[Bluemooner]

City fans are never wrong Ray... just always in possession of false hope... eternal false hope despite almost permanent disappointment.


I know the feeling

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[JJ]

Agree up to a point - but I cannot imagine the French being as eager to obey these particular laws as we seem to be. Looking at the [HI]battered old buses being driven around Paris,[/HI] in particular, it beggars belief that they would all be carting around the ever-growing number of mandatory items!

They are not French... they are Parisians...

JJ :Cool:

 

[callumwa]

I lived in France for more than 10 years, and have driven cars and rode bikes over there for more than 30 years.

I was stopped many many times, in cars and on the motorbike. It was normally just routine document checks, and on supplying most of the documents, most of the time, I was never ever asked to produce, spare bulbs, triangles, high vis vests etc. and a good thing too, as I never had them. I never used beam deflectors either, but it was never even commented on.

Now my ex partner (French) had a habit of frequently crashing our cars, normally into stationary objects, and fortunately without injury to anyone.
She was also banned for speeding. Fortunately she could choose when to take the 6 week ban and hand her licence in, so she did so to coincide with when I was home, thus to minimise the inconvenience, though I think that system may now have changed.
On all her many and frequent meetings with Messsieurs Les Gendarmes, she was never asked for any of these ancillary bits and bobs.

All of her friends and family also did not carry these things in their cars.

The first time she heard about the "compulsory" spare bulbs and warning triangle was when she saw them for sail on a cross channel ferry back to France. She though it was a wind up.

So I guess as the saying goes "You pays your money or takes your chance"....

 

[yodeli]

I lived in France for more than 10 years, and have driven cars and rode bikes over there for more than 30 years.

I was stopped many many times, in cars and on the motorbike. It was normally just routine document checks, and on supplying most of the documents, most of the time, I was never ever asked to produce, spare bulbs, triangles, high vis vests etc. and a good thing too, as I never had them. I never used beam deflectors either, but it was never even commented on.

Now my ex partner (French) had a habit of frequently crashing our cars, normally into stationary objects, and fortunately without injury to anyone.
She was also banned for speeding. Fortunately she could choose when to take the 6 week ban and hand her licence in, so she did so to coincide with when I was home, thus to minimise the inconvenience, though I think that system may now have changed.
On all her many and frequent meetings with Messsieurs Les Gendarmes, she was never asked for any of these ancillary bits and bobs.

All of her friends and family also did not carry these things in their cars.

The first time she heard about the "compulsory" spare bulbs and warning triangle was when she saw them for sail on a cross channel ferry back to France. She though it was a wind up.

So I guess as the saying goes "You pays your money or takes your chance"....

Hey .... here is a proper Frenchy .... Law?? What is the law???

As long as the sun is shining..... there will be a tomorrow to know about the law...... :Cool:

Frankie:Cool::Cool:

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[Heyupluv]

I have absolutely no idea how to change a bulb in a vehicle. I've been carrying round the same box of bulbs for at least 10 years in several different vehicles. But if the Gendarmes want to stop me and check I've got them, so be it. My French isn't great, I live here and don't want to receive nasty letters/fines/whatever they can do.


The breathalyser thing I don't really understand but as I last drank alcohol in (I think) 2005, can't see I'd ever need to use it. To have one in your vehicle, if the law does come into force in the summer, it must have the letters NF (normes france) on it. I paid €1.90 in a local Presse.

NF is correct.......BUT YOU NEED TWO BREATHALYSER'S KITS IN YOUR CAR....ONE THAT YOU USE ....................AND ONE TO ALLOW YOU TO DRIVE AWAY...oh:

 

[callumwa]

NF is correct.......BUT YOU NEED TWO BREATHALYSER'S KITS IN YOUR CAR....[HI]ONE THAT YOU USE ....................AND ONE TO ALLOW YOU TO DRIVE AWAY[/HI]...oh:

No need to have two...:thumb:

BECAUSE IF YOU ALWAYS ENSURE YOU FAIL THE FIRST TEST, YOU WILL NOT BE DOING ANY DRIVING AWAY........

 

[FirstJood]

French breathalyser law

I have travelled in France for several years and have seldom been stopped, however, over the last couple of years, travelling as a lone female, I have had the van searched before and after the crossing, obviously by both French and English customs officers but never been asked for any of the 'requirements'.
Having said that, and having retired from the police in the UK, I am a firm believer that if the law says you should have it, whether you think it is so or not, then you should have it, and I shall have the said breathalyser kit in the car as required by French law.
Let's face it, in the UK, I would expect drivers from other countries to abide by our law and deal with them if they didn't. so why should I behave any differently in any other country??
The operative date for the law is apparently 1 July 2012 and the French kits will be about 2 euros in supermarkets, there is some suggestion that the kits carried MUST be French and so I SHALL be buying mine over there rather than risking a UK one and losing my holiday spending money in a roadside fine!!

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[yodeli]

Once associated to JJ branded for life Frankie

Not that bad though, hell all you can eat Frey Bentos pies for life

What more can a girl possibly ask for:hug:?

Now now John ... I am 52y and ...bits ..... AND have known JJ for nearly 4 years ... and been close to him for (hey don't be nosey!!!) ... a certain time ... SO that gives me about 48 years to be under the influence of .... only Me and you know what ... I intend to stay that way ... and in any case I can only be a half of JJ ...either his better one , or just half his size


Amicalement

Frankie:Cool:

 

[JJ]

52

I thought you were only 39 Princess...

JJ :Cool:

 

[Diabalo]

52

I thought you were only 39 Princess...

JJ :Cool:

Got to be worth a bucket load of brownie points that one

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[champers]

Whilst recently travelling in France on route to Spain I tried to purchase these kits at a few of the service stations but was unable to , gave up in the end !

 

[JJ]

Got to be worth a bucket load of brownie points that one

JJ :Cool:

 

[JohnH]

I was stopped travelling back from Spain this year by the Customs. They seemed more concerned as to whether or not I was carrying tobacco than anything else.
I thought, now is the time I prove to my wife why I carry all of the bits I have carried for the last ten years: bulbs, hi viz jackets, first aid kit etc. etc.
I gathered everything together and all they wanted was my plastic driving licence. Not even the paper add-on.
I was gutted, they sat in the motorhome for a while and looked in the cooker and microwave. They totally ignored where I could, if I was a smuggler, hide things, like in lockers etc.
After 20 minutes the three of them got out, thanked us for our patience and complimented us on our choice of motorhome.
All the conversations where in French until the parting compliments in perfect English.
What a strange encounter with some very nice people. Luckily though, we were not in a hurry.
As an afterthought I told them what we were carrying, a bottle of which was Pastis. I said I preferred Ricard but that it had been dearer at Carrefour. I had a lecture of one of the gentlemen on how to serve both drinks and his personal preference and that I should not compromise on price when buying such an important beverage.

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[Heyupluv]

I was stopped travelling back from Spain this year by the Customs. They seemed more concerned as to whether or not I was carrying tobacco than anything else.
I thought, now is the time I prove to my wife why I carry all of the bits I have carried for the last ten years: bulbs, hi viz jackets, first aid kit etc. etc.
I gathered everything together and all they wanted was my plastic driving licence. Not even the paper add-on.
I was gutted, they sat in the motorhome for a while and looked in the cooker and microwave. They totally ignored where I could, if I was a smuggler, hide things, like in lockers etc.
After 20 minutes the three of them got out, thanked us for our patience and complimented us on our choice of motorhome.
All the conversations where in French until the parting compliments in perfect English.
What a strange encounter with some very nice people. Luckily though, we were not in a hurry.
As an afterthought I told them what we were carrying, a bottle of which was Pastis. I said I preferred Ricard but that it had been dearer at Carrefour. I had a lecture of one of the gentlemen on how to serve both drinks and his personal preference and that I should not compromise on price when buying such an important beverage.

John...we also was pulled over by the Douanes...(Customs) at the Border of Spain/ France near Biarritz ...(as we came back from Marjal, Javea, Benicasim, Zaragoza and other places in Spain).......The Douane officer was very polite..asked through the window if we had any alcohol, wine, or Tobacco....we said only two bottles of wine. no tobacco.....then for about 15 to 20 he was taking and patting to our dog Bruce the chocolate Labrador he then pointed to his arm...there was a badge of a Labrador Dog, His Customs Chien/dog he uses for drugs is the Yellow Labrador...he then wished us a safe journey and a good day in French...and waved us on...:thumb:......and Yes before you ask.... that is all we had in the motorhome two bottles of wine and no tobacco...(we don't smoke or Drink so I am am not getting into trouble bringing it for other people.:thumb

Just of subject...Mmmm....a big fresh homemade 1kg hot water crust pastry PORK PIE ..has just come out of our oven .....I have just got to put in the Hock Jelly when it cools a little
MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..Smells Delish Mmmmmm

 

[Wildman]

Digital Analyzer Alcohol Breath LCD Tester Breathalyzer

EBAY Item number: 270577876818
delivered £2.98
had to wait as from China but OK

:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:​

Is it reuseable, how do you clean it, does it show % alcohol to meet French requirements.