Posted on 05/12/2008 5:56:32 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3
French drinkers could be forced to take a breath test whenever they leave a bar at night in a bid to reduce soaring road deaths.
The plan, which will be put before President Nicolas Sarkozy's cabinet today, would require anywhere that serves alochol to install an electronic breathalyser.
The move follows a particularly deadly holiday weekend on French roads, in which drink-driving was blamed for many of the 17 deaths in seven accidents.
New law: Drinkers at this bar in Aix-en-Provence will face obligatory breathalyser tests
Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said: "Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot and I will present a decree to make electronic breathalyser tests obligatory in drinking establishments open until 2am, so that everyone can check their level, their condition upon leaving."
"I hope that by this summer, it will be obligatory in all such places," he added, noting that the idea has already been trialled at 350 cafes and bars in the west of France.
In the weekend's deadliest accident, four people aged 15 through 26 were killed on Saturday when the car they were in went off the road near Forbach, in the east of France.
Police said the 36-year-old driver who survived had been drinking.
New laws being proposed in the Paris parliment today would make electronic breathalyser tests compulsory in all bars open until 2am.
The plans to force drinkers to take a B-test comes after 17 people were killed in drink-drive accidents on France's roads last weekend.
Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said: "I will present a decree at the council of ministers to make electronic breathalyser tests obligatory in drinking establishments open until 2am, so that everyone can check their level and their condition upon leaving.
"I hope that by this summer, it will be obligatory in all such places."
The idea had already been trialled at 350 cafes and bars in the west of France, where police reported a reduction in the level of drink-related road deaths.
In last weekend's deadliest accident, four passengers aged 15 to 26 were killed on Saturday when the car they were in went off the road near Forbach, eastern France. Police said the 36-year-old driver, who survived, had been drinking.
Of course. Because the reason people drive drunk is because they don’t know they have been drinking.
No mention of consequences... strange.
“No mention of consequences... strange.”
Consequences for the drunk driving or for leaving a bar with alcohol on your breath?
Even for those walking home or taking the subway?
When they tried that around here, guys were having contests to see who could blow the highest numbers!
In related news, sales of mouthwash and soap have soared in France, recently...........
Coming to a bar near you..
Time to open breath bouncer schools.
There was a country bar here in NC that did this, maybe 15 years ago. The state made them stop because it was reducing the number of DUIs they were passing out.
Neither. The article doesn't mention the consequences for failing the test.
I expect a lot of bars will change their hours to close at 1:30 AM.
Applying this law to all patrons, will you be allowed to leave if you are drunk but have a taxi or designated driver? The devil is in the details.
The BAC [blood alcohol limit] in France is .05
Most people will go over that with more than 1 drink per hour.
It is a pity that this is compulsory, but that might be the only option. However, it does not seem to be well thought through. No matter how it is done, it needs to be a comprehensive system.
What would probably be better overall, would be to first bring together bar owners, and to put together a system that would have them all on board. Some of its elements:
1) Already there are some cities who subsidize a taxi company to offer low cost and even free rides to people who have had too much to drink. However, this creates the problem of the drinkers having to pick up their cars later, which is a hassle. So this program could be expanded so that taxis would take people to the bar in the first place.
Any adult could be issued a photo ID card the taxi driver could swipe in their machine, then would be swiped again at whatever bar they chose, as validation that they purchased at least one drink, to qualify for free or low cost round trips. Importantly, this isn’t *required* in any way, but it gives you a discount, like a grocery store card. An incentive for patrons to take a cab instead of their car. It would also apply to mass transit.
2) A similar concept applies to the Breathalyzers, in that it is just as important to know how intoxicated someone is when they *enter* a bar, as when they are leaving the bar.
So in addition to having machines in the bar, bars should be encouraged to give *discounts* on drinks if you blow into the Breathalyzer *first*, each time. Make it almost into a drinking game. Who would refuse doing it if they could get $1 off every drink? (Waivers for people with respiratory problems).
3) The biggest incentive to the program is to support bar owners with reductions in their liquor license fees and their liability insurance. Getting a liquor license is very, very expensive in many places, and liability insurance is also very pricey. This wouldn’t be too much of a reduction, just a subsidy to offset the cost of their getting with the program.
If done judiciously, everyone benefits. The bar owners save money, make more money, and get a more polite clientele. The patrons and the public are protected from accidents, and they get discounts for their efforts. Even the government saves a lot of money not having to provide emergency services for drunk driving accidents.
How was that even possible? The publicity should have made the state cringe. Maybe if MADD got involved.
“Even for those walking home or taking the subway?”
You put the finger on what a Sarko government reform is.
Launched on a table by an incompetent politician during an interview, replying to a question before thinking first.
Perhaps they could enforce their drunk driving laws more effectively instead?
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