Changes to French driving laws.

The French Government have proposed some new laws for anyone driving in France. You will be required to carry two breath test kits, and any sat-nav which shows the positions of speed cameras will be deemed illegal. I understand that it should be OK to disable the function if your sat-nav has this ability.

This is not supposed to come into effect until the 1st of April, but it could catch any late trips at Easter if you are driving.

They are also going to be introducing 400 mew speed cameras, which unlike previous ones will not be advertised by warning signs.

So, a few more items to add to the in car travel kit. The breath test kits should cost around £2 each.

Let me gues, "breath test kits approved by the Gendamerie" A nice little earner....

I have no comment on that reeally, drink driving is a NO NO so you should not need them

Speeding - can a French/other european speed fine affect your UK licence? :roll:

It can affect your UK licence I believe. Jersey licence is diffrent :) but we still get the on the spot fine :(. Not that my van will go quick enough to speed.

Is this definately going into law? I go to france once a month maybe more some months. Wonder if I will need to carry these on the motorbike as well?

There was a whole raft of new laws announced a few days ago, some with immediate effect (like a ban on GPS radar control warning devices*), some with no date fixed yet but a provisional timetable for introduction (like the alcootest kit) and others to come on a specified date in the next year (like reflective garments for bikers from 1 January 2013).

I've blogged more details and links to the original announcement and so on here: New Laws for Drivers in France in 2012

Phil

* Active "detectors" have always been illegal - the change is that the ban extends to radar warnings on GPS devices

:)

Many thanks for the additional info France_Normandy, welcome to J2SKI.

No problem )

By the way, the supermarkets here are not all stockpiling alcootests the way that they stockpiled reflective jackets when they became compulsory for motorists to carry, so maybe they are not so sure that the law will be enacted on the timetable that was put forward on January 5th.

On a separate subject - and I have no affiliation with this site - UK drivers may be interested to know that SANEF (one of the motorway agencies in France) provides autoroute "tags" (or "badges" as they are known here) to people in the UK without the need for a French bank account. http://www.saneftolling.co.uk/ It doesn't come free (total up front fee of 39.14€ of which 20€ is refundable when you return the tag, and a monthly rental of 1€)but some may like the convenience of nipping through the Telépéages without using a card or cash. If anyone does have a French bank account then they can get a tag for free from rival operator ALIS, but with ALIS I think you'll also need a French address for delivery of the tag. As far as I know ALIS is the only operator offering tags without any monthly rental fee.

Presumably the French are having a blitz on drink driving.

I went to Le Mans a few years ago & they were testing driver after driver - according to the local rag they tested thousands over the weekend and had almost 200 positive tests - all but one were locals!

Yes, there are always extra gendarmes and loads more spot checks not just for drinking but also vehicle documentation etc. at race weekends. Not just the 24 Hours but also the MotoGP etc. too.

Last year a car in Lorient (Brittany) was confiscated for speeding and driving without a licence and is now being used by the gendarmes - poor guys, having to drive round in a Merc CLS 350.

http://www.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/societe/des-gendarmes-bretons-roulent-en-coupe-mercedes-confisque-a-un-chauffard_1010508.html