STARTING JULY 1, 2012, IN FRANCE, HOME OF NOBLE WINES AND NOBLE DRINKING, THE PORTABLE BREATHALYZER WILL BE REQUIRED IN ALL AUTOMOBILES. TO STIMULATE CONSUMER CONSCIOUSNESS, PREVENTION AND FEWER ROAD CHECKS

France, one of the homes where noble wines and good drinking reign, has decided that starting July 1, 2012, every car, bus or truck circulating in France (except for those that come from abroad) has to have a portable breathalyzer on board. The requirement is to push drivers to check their alcoholic level before they start on a trip, for prevention and to have fewer road controls which are costly to the State and to the citizen who gets “caught” drunk driving.

Of course, portable and affordable breathalyzers are available in Italy as well. But the French government went one step further: it is a sort of forced “deal” to stimulate consumer responsibility in a Country where, as the newspaper “Corriere della Sera” writes, 31% of deadly accidents are caused by alcohol abuse. Only time will tell whether they work or not. But it is a good idea. It’s better than the “terror strategy” of high fines and “monstrous” penalties.