The sale of breathalyzers soon to be compulsory in drinking establishments

When it comes to road safety, there are the measures strongly criticized and not necessarily essential to reduce the number of accidents, such as the limitation to 80 km / h or the deployment of private radar cars, and those which really make sense. The one we are talking about today is part of this second category, even if it should unfortunately not eradicate the scourge ofDrunk Driving, which still kills so many people today. But anyway, from this summer, and more precisely from July 1, 2021, all establishments selling take-out alcoholic beverages will be required to offer breathalysers for sale. This obviously concerns bars, which we hope will reopen in the coming months, but also supermarkets, wine merchants and even online sales sites. In total, more than 500,000 operators would be affected by this measure, aimed at encouraging motorists to self-test.

As the Road safety in a press release, “From July 1, 2021, take-out alcoholic beverage establishments will have to offer breathalyzer for sale near the department with the largest volume of alcoholic beverages ” or ” near the place of payment “. The goal is to educate customers and remind them of the importance of knowing their blood alcohol level before getting behind the wheel. It should be noted that the owner-harvesters offering for sale the fruit of their production, as well as the temporary sales, especially during fairs are not concerned by this measure, which appears in the Mobility Orientation Law but whose implementation application was formalized on March 30 only in the Official Journal. It should also be noted that all the establishments concerned by this measure will also have to install posters to make drivers aware of the risks of alcohol consumption before taking the road.

Heavy penalties

The law therefore specifies that the aforementioned establishments must offer “ des ischemical breathalysers obligatorily and as a possible complement to electronic breathalysers “, While having” a minimum stock of 10 or 25 breathalyzers, set according to the size of the alcohol departments “. Offenders are then exposed to heavy penalties with a fixed fine set at € 675, which can then be increased to € 1,875. What to dissuade the possible bad pupils, especially since this measure could undoubtedly contribute to save some lives. As a reminder, the drunk driving is the second leading cause of road fatalities, behind excessive speed, and is involved in a third of fatal accidents in France. The only legal one is currently set at 0.5 g / liter of blood, while it is 0.2 g / l for drivers on probationary licenses. If you exceed this limit, you risk a fine of 135 € and a withdrawal of six points on your driving license. If the rate exceeds 0.8 g / l, then it becomes an offense and you will then incur a suspension of the license, a withdrawal of six points, a fine of up to € 4,500, or even a cancellation of the license and a penalty. from prison.