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Remembered Today:

France: Obligatory Breath Test Kits


Seadog

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Norman

Are you now suggesting that the French are about to bring in a law requiring an alcometer for your cat if it is travelling with you on a pet passport? :o

Given the relative circulating blood volume to mass weight, how many mg/ml is my cat allowed prior to driving?

Andy

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Absolutely correct I could not agree with you more. This is a very silly thread but as long as gives us all a good laugh well then that really is all that matters isn’t it? In the meantime here is a very serious thread which I am sure you will all find very interesting.

Very seriious thread

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207 Posts

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Ha ha ha :D

Regards

Norman

Surely the point is that the cat thread is in Skindles, the off-topic chat area for those who wish to indulge and not visible to visitors or those with too few posts to qualify (or who choose to opt out). This thread, which has meandered round Will's Uncle for several laps, is in an on-topic area visible to the world, his wife and the French Ambassador.

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This is one of those threads that could have been moved to Skindles long ago - but despite the silliness, it does raise an issue that those of us going to France in the future need to at least be aware of, so I think it correct it should remain in open forum. Perhaps the silliness should be editted out - but I don't really think it is doing any harm...

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As a teetotal, non driver, I demand that this thread be closed immediately. It offends me to the very core of my being.

Were you the apple of your mother's eye?

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As a teetotal, non driver, I demand that this thread be closed immediately. It offends me to the very core of my being.

Were you the apple of your mother's eye?

Or from a nuclear family?

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Well he certainly gives me the pip.

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Well he certainly gives me the pip.

Oh I don't know, Mr B - I find him quite appeeling in a strange, inexplicable way

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Well he certainly gives me the pip.

Back to breathalysers, you really need a pear.

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It was Barbara Castle in c1968 who introduced the breathaliser or bag as it (she) was known. Rural pubs started to die immediately. The same will happen in France. Bars have been affected by the smoking ban and rigorous adherence of the breathaliser will kill off thousands of Les Routiers eateries and bistros. Ce la vie!

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That's a shame. I used to find it scary, though, seeing blokes knocking back shots of Calva with a croissant and a small espresso at 10 am then wending their way back to their vehicles. Couldn't possibly have had enough food to even begin to absorb the alcohol in the Calvas.

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I'm secretly impressed that we have taken six pages to discuss the fact that Johnny Foreigner has introduced a law which applies - shock horror - to the British.

Carry on.

As a pedant, you should know that your post tells a naughty untruth ..... you are PUBLICLY impressed you moment you press "Add reply"

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I'm not so bothered about the rights and wrongs of the French decision.It is their Country after all. :D

Rather about the profiteering that may go on, in the UK,to fleece drivers intending to take their cars to France e.g.will the Ferry Companies sell the kits at the same price if bought in a garage,etc in France?

George

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Wouldn't it be more effective if the question was turned from profiteering to the LOSS of Profits?

To be on the safe side, wouldn't it be more sensible to refrain from consuming ANY alcohol whilst in France?

Once bars, restaurants and hypermarkets see their profits plummet by les Anglais drinking and purchasing only coffee and soft drinks, the message might get home.

Of course, I do have an interest to declare, my in laws were killed in a road crash (in England) by a young drunk driver who then ran away when Daddies Jag wouldn't function.

That means I restrict myself to NOT drinking alcohol when I know I'll be driving. Madame usually drives to venues, so she can tipple to her hearts content and I drive home, accompanied by gentle (well mostly) snoring.

We do something similar whist we drive through France to Spain, she does 4 hours in the morning, enjoys a glass of wine with her meal and I take over the driving for the afternoon shift.

You DON'T have to drink AND drive. If you really feel that this new law is an imposition, either avoid France or refrain from drinking whilst there.

That way 1 used and one unused breathalysers can sit in your glove box for eternity.

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I'm not so bothered about the rights and wrongs of the French decision.It is their Country after all. :D

Rather about the profiteering that may go on, in the UK,to fleece drivers intending to take their cars to France e.g.will the Ferry Companies sell the kits at the same price if bought in a garage,etc in France?

George

Like all the notices telling you that "on the continent...." and quite oblivious that there are different laws in different countries. e.g. spare light bulbs are for Spain, not Germany or France.

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Wouldn't it be more effective if the question was turned from profiteering to the LOSS of Profits?

To be on the safe side, wouldn't it be more sensible to refrain from consuming ANY alcohol whilst in France?

Once bars, restaurants and hypermarkets see their profits plummet by les Anglais drinking and purchasing only coffee and soft drinks, the message might get home.

Of course, I do have an interest to declare, my in laws were killed in a road crash (in England) by a young drunk driver who then ran away when Daddies Jag wouldn't function.

That means I restrict myself to NOT drinking alcohol when I know I'll be driving. Madame usually drives to venues, so she can tipple to her hearts content and I drive home, accompanied by gentle (well mostly) snoring.

We do something similar whist we drive through France to Spain, she does 4 hours in the morning, enjoys a glass of wine with her meal and I take over the driving for the afternoon shift.

You DON'T have to drink AND drive. If you really feel that this new law is an imposition, either avoid France or refrain from drinking whilst there.

That way 1 used and one unused breathalysers can sit in your glove box for eternity.

Kevin,

I share your pain,although not personally.

If I am intending to drive either in UK or the Continent I choose not to drink alcohol.

I do,however,enjoy a drink during the evening relaxation,in my case,at home or the Gite.

How can I be certain,however,that the alcohol has dispersed from my body if I choose to drive the following morning.

I may be wrong but is not the intention of the French Law both to prevent alcohol consumption and immediate driving plus the opportunity to test oneself,to check you're fit to drive the following morning?

George

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Hi guys,

I am still reading your posts... and I am currently drinking a beer (but not driving).

A votre santé,

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Sly

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Kevin (post 165): nail on head. That policy has worked for me in nigh on 40 years of driving. Strangely effective I find it.

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Like all the notices telling you that "on the continent...." and quite oblivious that there are different laws in different countries. e.g. spare light bulbs are for Spain, not Germany or France.

As I said earlier, post #38, a European-wide consensus on what equipment is mandatory and what is desirable would be sensible. That would include the UK.

Gwyn

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Agreed Gwyn,

But then again I'm a simple-minded soul who wants to stay within the Law,in any Country I visit,and you never know "have to buy equipment,that Britain subsequently deems is required to be carried in a car both for safety to the drivers and passengers and to give assistance to other road users".

George

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As I said earlier, post #38, a European-wide consensus on what equipment is mandatory and what is desirable would be sensible. That would include the UK.

Gwyn

Ahh, but the British would complain bitterly at having to carry all that stuff as most people never leave Britain and anyway little old ladies would never dream of driving their Ferraris while drunk; and why are these foreigners telling us what to do?

Oh, and when brought in you would have to carry at leas two spare shock absorbers in Britain with wheel ramps (jacks might collapse), spare seat belt and a little man carrying a red flag walking in front (at least that is what Britain usually does with EU legislation).

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Oh, and when brought in you would have to carry at leas two spare shock absorbers in Britain with wheel ramps (jacks might collapse), spare seat belt and a little man carrying a red flag walking in front

Surely not - you'll have both the feminists and the Society for the Protection of Rights of People of unequal Heights after you

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You have a point :lol: but most of the mandatory stuff is sensible anyway and hardly takes up any space. Compared with what some people consider essential to carry in their car... From what I see in my rear view mirror at traffic lights, some carry full make-up bags, combs, brushes, some need pine-shaped air-fresheners as big as pieces of forest, some add nodding dogs, football loyalty paraphernalia and baby toys bearing gooey messages telling the following traffic that they're fertile... I can't travel without iPod, bottles of water, a mini-Maglite, a Swiss army knife, a pad and a pencil. Oh and a French and a German dictionary. My husband's car boot looks like it would if Steptoe was a civil engineer.

Compared with that, a conspicuity jacket, two disposable breath-analysers, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher,a warning triangle and a set of spare bulbs seem practical and easily stowed. At least they come in in emergencies (though changing the bulbs in my car is a garage job).

Gwyn

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You have a point :lol: but most of the mandatory stuff is sensible anyway and hardly takes up any space. Compared with what some people consider essential to carry in their car... From what I see in my rear view mirror at traffic lights, some carry full make-up bags, combs, brushes, some need pine-shaped air-fresheners as big as pieces of forest, some add nodding dogs, football loyalty paraphernalia and baby toys bearing gooey messages telling the following traffic that they're fertile... I can't travel without iPod, bottles of water, a mini-Maglite, a Swiss army knife, a pad and a pencil. Oh and a French and a German dictionary. My husband's car boot looks like it would if Steptoe was a civil engineer.

Do you reverse up to traffic lights?

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the French are beginning to make jokes about this measure

guy on a blog: 'my car is such a mess inside that just finding the breathalyser proves I'm sober'

cartoon in the Canard Enchainé this morning of a car with a couple in stopped by the police.

She: Darling, where did you put the breathalyser?

He: In the glove box next to the whisky bottle

cheers Martin B

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