Random Breath Testing

[Deimos]

Just out of interest, I had always thought that in the UK

random breath test by the police were not allowed and that they had to have

some reason to stop and breathalyse you (maybe I’m out of date).  However, the other day I was stopped and

breathalysed in France and I know they had no reason (as we were all stopped in

a queue where they had stopped everybody at the junction).  Are random breath tests permitted in France

?

(No against them atall, just wondering).

Ian

[Teamedup]

I believe that if the gendarmes decide to stop and control vehicules when they want, they can. I have been stopped several times for my papers to be checked over the years and if one day I was asked to give a breath test, it would not surprise me.

[chris pp]

Random and routine breath testing is completely normal in France, no reason need be given. You may also be required to empty the contents of your vehicle, again no reason need be given, this can be either by the Gendarmes or the Customs. I have been stopped locally by the Customs who at first I thought were Gendarmes as they were on motorcycles and their uniform was, as far as I could tell identical, just different badges, they tested my fuel for "red".

Chris

[Punch]

Quite, I've been stopped and breathalised at random on quite a few occasions in the last 16 years,  usually in one of my work vehicles. Last year I was breathylised three times in the space of two weeks, two of which were in the same place by the same gendarme in the same small village !! This is on top of the usual paperwork checks I've had. I have never seen the electronique testers used here, just the usual blow in the bag type.

TU - I am quite surprised in all your years in France you have never been brethalised -  mind you I do spend a great deal of time at the wheel.

Punch

[Teamedup]

I have only been stopped about 5 times in all 25 years, for anything. The first time was the customs, we were well into France after a day trip to Geneva and the motor cycle ones stopped us. The next time was just after I had bought a car from another dept and was awaiting the new carte grise, I was running on plates from the other dept which is nothing unusual where I live. Anyway my temporary carte grise had a day to run and I was pleased of the reminder to chase the garage and even more pleased it had not expired. There have been a couple of times since then, the last time about 4 years ago when friends were staying with us. No one has ever asked me to do a breath test though.

[Punch]

You've obvoulsly either got a very innocent sweet looking face, or you have big eyes and long eyelashes :-)  I have neither !

[Teamedup]

I don't have long lashes. I don't look 'sweet' either, not a word I would use about a woman of my age. So I don't know.

[Miki]

Paul,

I can't remember being breathalysed either in all our time here but

have been stopped several times, a few times for driving infractions

!  And a few times due to controles but laughably,  they did

ask the wife once in Provence to blow in the

bag.......................... and she was the passenger in her friends

UK car  [:D]

[bedders]

I was stopped at a peage, flagged down after just pulling away. The disgruntled look on his face when it failed to register, was a picture.I hadn't even had so much as a wine gum. 

[Jc]

They were doing checks on a line of vehicles at traffic lights near us;I was interested to see that the sergeant in charge was carrying a rifle openly;presumably in case you decided not to stop. 

[Richard-R]

The 'old bill' seem to have phases for what they stop you for. A couple of years ago it was for breath tests. I was stopped about 9 times in two months. Than it was tyres and condition of car. Now it is insurance and cg.

[Will]

If the gendarmes want to stop traffic and do a controle they will do so, regardless of any niceties about the law. Sometimes it is completely random, at other times they are having a specific purge, as Richard says. One such purge reported in our local paper not too long ago was looking for people driving school buses under the influence - a rather frightening thought, especially as they felt they needed a specific purge. I don't think they found any though.

The 'no random breath testing' idea in Britain has always been a bit of a farce anyway. Policemen can stop people or vehicles for any reason, and all they have to say to justify carrying out a breath test is something like they thought they could smell alcohol, or they thought the vehicle was being driven erratically, whether or not that is the true case. I had that from the horse's mouth, so to speak, from somebody who was a friend when he was just an Inspector, but who is now a Chief Constable in another part of Britain, and, incidentally, is notorious for his pro-speed camera views.

 

[Deimos]

[quote user="Jc"]… I was interested to see

that the sergeant in charge was carrying a rifle openly; …[/quote]

Last year at a local T-junction (large open one you can see

for miles with a small island in the middle), there were a couple of gendarmes patrolling/waiting

and the one with the shotgun seemed to be enjoying spending her time doing

Clint Eastwood impressions.  They were

not stopping anybody but were doing a lot of “looking tough” (unusual for women

gendarmes ?).

Are these policewomen

allowed to take their guns home at night [;)] ?

Ian

[Alcazar]

[quote user="Will the Conqueror"]

 I had that from the horse's mouth, so to speak, from somebody who was a friend when he was just an Inspector, but who is now a Chief Constable in another part of Britain, and, incidentally, is notorious for his pro-speed camera views.[/quote]

Not CC in North Wales by any chance?[:P]

Alcazar

[Teamedup]

My female friends in the village complain that if they are doing controls in our village, it is usually between four and five and as far as they are concerned only women are being stopped. And I suppose if women re a target, they get the school run too. My friend was on her way home from work and was really narked as she was stopped  and her son drove past ( to add insult to injurty told her he was speeding too) and was waved on.

 

 

[Stocky]

We had two Gendarmes srtanding on the corner outside our house the other Sunday.  They were stopping cars at random and offering them the bag to blow into. (Same bag for each driver which seemed worrying.  One driver was suspect so the got the machine out for a proper test.  Car was left opposite our house for 4 days before it was picked up.

[Will]

Alcazar - yes, that's the chap.

TU - I know what you are saying about women. Mrs Conq (Judie) often gets stopped and breathalysed, though always sober, whereas they have, up to now, always ignored me. Judie often gets pulled into the controles when she is being followed by estate agency clients in their cars, the clients (always in British registered vehicles) get waved on, which causes no end of confusion.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Deimos"]

[quote user="Jc"]… I was interested to see

that the sergeant in charge was carrying a rifle openly; …[/quote]

Last year at a local T-junction (large open one you can see

for miles with a small island in the middle), there were a couple of gendarmes patrolling/waiting

and the one with the shotgun seemed to be enjoying spending her time doing

Clint Eastwood impressions.  They were

not stopping anybody but were doing a lot of “looking tough” (unusual for women

gendarmes ?).

Are these policewomen

allowed to take their guns home at night [;)] ?

Ian

[/quote]

Not sure about the gendarmerie - and in any case I think they go back

to barracks, which is not the same at all - but I'm fairly sure that

the police take their toys home with them at night.

[fulcrum]

I have observed that the Gendarms look at you through what appears to be binoculars on a tripod as you approach their checkpoints. I thought it was a speed detecting device but I'm now sure that it is a device to enable them to observe, at a distance, vehicle and passenger details as it approaches them. Of course it may detect speed as well.

[Alcazar]

[quote user="fulcrum"]I have observed that the Gendarms look at you through what appears to be binoculars on a tripod as you approach their checkpoints. I thought it was a speed detecting device but I'm now sure that it is a device to enable them to observe, at a distance, vehicle and passenger details as it approaches them. Of course it may detect speed as well.
[/quote]

Those are the new "Jumelles Laser", they use a laser beam to measure the speed of a vehicle coming towards, or away from the user. Fave place to use them too, just before peages, where the limit quickly drops from 130 to 110, then 90, then 70, then 50! A French mate has also been done by them once when LEAVING the autoroute, where the slip road speed is limited and often changes to 50 (try DOING 50 after long distances at 130), and once on entering an aire, same reason.

In the UK there is a row brewing at the moment because it's been shown that they can be HIGHLY inaccurate, and when inaccurate, ALWAYS on the high side. In one test, a brick wall was shown to be travelling at 18mph!

Of course, you could always buy a laser diffuser, which stops them from being able to get a reading...............not that I would, of course.[;)]

Alcazar

[Deimos]

[quote

user="Alcazar"]

In the UK there is a row brewing at the moment because it's been shown that

they can be HIGHLY inaccurate, and when inaccurate, ALWAYS on the high side. In

one test, a brick wall was shown to be travelling at 18mph!

Alcazar

[/quote]

Over Christmas when I visited the UK heard something on the

radio about the “current” procedures being used for speed cameras.  Apparently the 1^st photo has the

radar speed on it and the 2^nd taken a fixed time later is used to

measure the distance down the road (on the comb lines) and thus verify the actual

speed.  What should happen is that

before you are “done” the 2^nd photo should also be checked and your

excessive speed verified (as the radar is prone to “inaccuracies”).

What has apparently been happening is that, due to costs,

the 2^nd photo has been being ignored and only the 1^st photo

used – i.e. the “inaccurate” radar measurement.  If this says “too fast” you are done only on that basis.

Somebody who was “done” was convinced that had not been

speeding so went to court and required the photos.  It was then established that they had not been speeding and had

only been “done” due to radar “inaccuracies”.  It then emerged that these new procedures (ignoring the 2^nd

photo”) were being used and there were calls for the entire system to be put on

hold.

Apparently bottom line is that loads of people have probably

been done when they were not really speeding at all.  And, this thing on the radio said that you can retrospectively

appeal.

I guess its an example of “profitability” (reduce your costs

by ignoring the 2^nd photo and thus maximise profit from the system).

Ian

[Deimos]

Another aside (about UK speed cameras) is that apparently

there has been a leaked report by the Road Safety Research organisation (the

government one) that says that speed cameras can actually cause a lot of

accidents and the balance between reducing and causing is not always as one

might expect (depending on location).

Apparently the reason is that when people know there is a

speed camera they will tend to break. 

The risk is that, as there is often no “apparent reason" for this (i.e.

no sharp bend, etc.) the driver behind is not ready and risks going into the

back of the breaking car.  Apparently

this becomes a lot worse where people don’t know about the camera and suddenly

see it (worse now they are painted to be more obvious).  This can cause people to brake hard, even if

they are not breaking the speed limit – a sort of instinctive reaction.  This then increases the risk of the car

behind going into the back of them.

Of course the car behind should be further away/paying more

attention.  However, on open roads, etc.

 I guess people are not always as ready

as they should be for somebody to just brake hard for “no apparent reason”.

Ian

[Jc]

The camera which uses the lines on the road is only one type of fixed camera;there are other fixed cameras which do not need the lines.

[Deimos]

[quote user="Jc"]The camera which uses the lines

on the road is only one type of fixed camera;there are other fixed cameras

which do not need the lines.[/quote]

I assumed they were talking about those that did require the

lines on the road (which seemed to be most of then a few years ago).

The program was saying that appeals could go back many years

if people so chose – though in practice I guess it would only apply to people who

were going close to the limit (i.e. they thought they were not breaking the

speed limit and camera inaccuracies said they were) – thus the fines and points

would have been low so they probably would not bother if very long ago.

Ian

[Owens88]

>In one test, a brick wall was shown to be travelling at 18mph!

Isn't that the speed the earth rotates at ? (Fact dimly remembered froman answer given by Superman explaining why he was wearing protective clothes that woudn't burn but the people he was 'carrying' weren't but they were still safe.)

John