Personal breathalysers could be made compulsory in Britain, but leading safety charity fears abuse of system

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Published: 14 August 2012

THERE is overwhelming support for the UK to replicate France by introducing compulsory self-breathalyser tests, a new survey has revealed.

Earlier this year, our classy mainland neighbours made it compulsory for every driver to carry a minimum of two personal breathalyser kits in their cars even if they never consume alcohol.

The idea is that if a driver has consumed alcohol, they can make sure they are not over the legal limit before they start the engine. Those who are discovered not carrying the kits with them while driving are faced with a small fine. It is hoped the 4,000 road deaths in France last year will be reduced to below 3,000 this year.

Campaigners argue that if the same simple system was introduced in the UK, it could save hundreds of lives, with our survey revealing nine out of every ten councillors support the idea.

"We don't think it would be a good idea because we're not convinced that these kits are useful," said Kevin Clinton, Head of Road Safety for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). "Our two main concerns are that they may encourage some drivers to try to drink up to the limit and drive instead of avoiding drinking at all, when they know they're going to be driving."

Those against the breathalysers said the law was pressured on the government through clever industry lobbying an industry where there were only two major disposable breathalyser manufacturers in France when the law was first introduced.

"We don't think they would help people to avoid drink driving because there's a danger it would have the opposite effect," Mr Clinton added. "We're also not convinced about how reliable or accurate the readings are. I certainly wouldn't want to risk my driving license on a three quid blow-in-the bag device."

While disposable breathalyser tests are very cheap, they can also be inaccurate and pale in comparison with those used by police forces. Ultimately, there is no safe limit when driving with alcohol in the system.

Mr Clinton described how if personal breathalysers were made compulsory, he feared that police resources dedicated to tackling drink driving directly could be diverted and instead used on making sure drivers have these kits - resulting in a waste of time, money and lives.

RoSPA might support the introduction of breathalysers if it can be proven the law works in France. And while drink driving is a much larger problem in France than the UK, the homeland of wine dreams of saving 500 lives a year.

He added: "I'd be surprised if it had anything like that effect but I suspect it would also take much longer than a year to be sure about what is happening and why. At the moment we don't think there's any evidence to suggest that these kits are a good way of preventing drinking and driving."

31-year-old car fanatic Severine, originally from France but has been living in the Kent for over ten years, said: "It's a win-win situation. Drivers do not want to be caught over the limit or even intentionally hurt someone though a drink-driving accident, so it benefits everyone and relieves pressure on emergency services that are already pushed to their limits over the winter period."

If you have been affected by this story, perhaps having been hit by a drink-driver, maybe having previously been caught drink-driving or if you are a keen drinker, we would like to hear your view. Please email danny.hewitt@motortradesinsight.co.uk.