As of July 1, 2012 you are required to carry in the car/with the motorcycle an alcohol test when driving in France.

If you are controlled and do not have the test, the fine will be € 17 (money grab on people with CH plates anyone?)

TCS will start selling the test in their service points starting April 20th (sorry, I only have the details for Vaud - maybe others can add details for other Cantons).

Points of sale for VAUD: Lausanne and Cossonay.

Pricing is CHF 1.80 per test if TCS member and CHF 3.80 for non-members.

It is not possible to purchase them via the Post.

This might save some time on getting all of the TCS sales points as mentioned above. Here is the map and link for ALL of the TCS sites in CH.

Link: http://www.tcs.ch/main/fr/home/der_tcs/filialen.html

Yes sir, we have three types of breath testers available:

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinoit Noir.

Each one has it's own delicate balance of sensory digital elements with a hint of local color directly linked to cheap Taiwanese components to give that "extra full exhale experience" when standing on the curbside amidst old piles of black snow and trash.

I read somewhere these disposable testers are expected to cost between €1,-- and 50 cents.

I will buy some from the French supermarket and make a killing here on Ricardo!

You need at least two, one to test yourself if you may drive, and then one to show the police control that you are carrying one.

Don't forget the first aid kit for Germany, the fluorescent jackets, the big striped board to hang on the surf board for Italy, the headlamp lens converters for UK, the CH sticker for travel in the EU.

And about 25 Indians clinging onto the roof if you venture east of Graubünden

Warning triangles, fluorescent jackets, breath tests - where is this bureaucratic nonsense going to end??

As you leave the UK by ferry you are issued with dire warnings of what can happen in France if you don't change the dip on your headlights. At least they don't demand yellow lights any more (what was that all about?). But this all smacks of handy earners for those selling these items and little to do with safety...

"Each vehicle requires a current member of the law enforcement community to sit next to the designated driver to ensure that the lethality of the vehicle is at no time exercised, be that via the adrenalin rush of acceleration, nor enjoying a winding road on a hot summer's day in excess of the indicated speed limit nor technical capabilities of the automotive device."

I've seen plenty of non-adjusted foreigner headlights on UK roads. I guess they UK authorities just blank out anything europe related by reflex.

Surely having these tests is counter productive? those that will drive while over the limit will do it with or without these tests.
Those who would be worried of going over the limit would probably stop drinking to be on the safe side but now they'll say oh I've got an alcohol test I'll see how much more I can drink.
I've got a feeling rather than stopping people from drinking more, in people's minds it will tell them how much more they can drink so while less people may drive with an alcohol level over the limit, on average the alchol level could be higher. It will be interesting to see the results of police checks before and a year after this law.

Personally as someone who never drinks and drives I find this law totally stupid. Surely the government wants to encourage people from drinking less not more while driving.

Anyway thanks for the heads up. I'll get those stupid tests and chuck them under the boot along with the yellow vest I never use

& throw away your GPS before you go to France if it has radar ponts displayed

Yellow vest should be in the car; not the boot.
Good luck to find a place

I think there is a general misunderstanding - the testers are to be carried in the car to show the policeman, not actually used

The jacket has to be kept in the car not the boot. I think the idea is you should be able to get it without having to actually get out of the car, otherwise it defeats the object, if you see what I mean!

In Brittany, where we spend a lot of time, it's very common to see it draped across the passenger seat to let the police know you have one (and thus avoid being stopped unnecessarily).

You beat me to it

Maybe people will do the same with the alcohol tests. They'll look good dangling from the mirror like one of those smelly tree things.

Great idea, would definitely smell better

I'm curious about what will happen the first time someone knocks back a few very quick shots, blows into the breath test (which shows negative reading, because the alcohol hasn't been absorbed yet), then causes a fatal accident 30 KM down the road when the alcohol has kicked in.

Tougher to convict someone when they testify "I was concerned about being over the limit, so I took a test. It was negative so I thought I was safe to drive."

I am able to clap down the back seats and crawl in to the boot anyway since when was logic one of the French bureaucrats strengths? As shown above


I've seen them around on the back of the driver's seats but I refuse to blind by passengers and myself and blemishing the good looks of my car by having the vest anywhere near eyesight. Just like with the CH sticker. I know we're supposed to have them on the back of the car but honestly I'd rather pay the fine.

Anyway I got a new vest as a gift from my insurance. It's nicely packed so I guess I'll put it in my glove department so that I can disappoint any petty police officers (although if they wanna get me for that they'll probably fine my for not having the CH sticker anyway)

Yep you can bet they will get you one way or another.

Loving the image of you crawling across the back of the car to get the jacket.

I was also wondering about this. I'm assuming the logic behind this is that people will check their alcohol level before driving. This requires though that the test is very accurate. Even the police have to take blood tests to double check that their expensive machines are giving the right level. I'm guessing the margin of error on 1 Euro testers is somewhat higher.

It will be interesting to hear of the first case of someone getting injured/killed by a drunken driver but he's got witnesses who saw him take a self-test which (through inaccuracy of the test or wrong handling by the driver) showed that he was fine to drive

I always carry a large freezer with me filled with dry ice containing a full spare set of internal organs and various bags of common blood groups.

Oh and a smal pack of band-aids, just in case ....