Monday, August 27, 2012

Coming Soon To California

France orders every driver to carry breathalyzer kits
Before hitting the road, drivers in France are being ordered to equip their cars with a potentially life-saving device: a breathalyzer kit.

The law, which went into effect Sunday, requires drivers to carry two breathalyzers in the hope that those who imbibe will test themselves before getting behind the wheel, ultimately helping to curb the growing rate of drunk driving.
Assuming that a drunk will remember to test himself before driving away, or even be able to test properly and read the results accurately...

I have the unnerving feeling that some California law-maker will learn of this idea... Hey!, If it saves just one human life...

Maybe we can thwart them with a reminder that the breathalyzers are made of disposable plastic bags. Hold out for a burlap model, the kind sold at Whole Foods.
Do it for the environment. It if saves just one tree...

6 comments:

Brian said...

“If they were mandatory in every vehicle, the roads would be safer, there’s no doubt about that,”

What a colossally stupid thing to say.

Potential doubts (off the top of my head):

1. That they are likely to be used at all.

2. That they are likely to be used correctly, especially by someone who is, in fact, impaired.

3. That they will function reliably and accurately.

4. That they will give someone a false sense of security getting behind the wheel when they should not.

The devices that cops use are bad enough in terms of reliability, but the off the shelf consumer models are damn near worthless. I went camping with some friends a couple of months ago, and someone had a keychain breathalyzer. We played the "what am I blowing now?" game. I took my turn after my fourth beer in about an hour (they were Tecates, they go down fast) and I blew a 0.04. I have a pretty high tolerance but can honestly say at that moment I had no business driving.

Gino said...

but Brian... if it saves just one human life, it would be worth it.

Night Writer said...

If it saes just one human life - and makes some political crony a couple million bucks - it's worth it.

Unknown said...

Installing the ignition interlock device costs a motorist a monthly maintenance fee along with the price of installing the interlock device, but how much damages will you pay once you encounter an accident? Lawyer, Insurance, Lawsuit, hospital bills.

K-Rod said...

NW hit that one out of THE park!

Bike Bubba said...

Gerald; and in the case that nobody who uses your car drinks to excess and then proceeds to drive, 100% of that fee is wasted.

My take on the French proposal is that since it doesn't include the interlock device, it's merely another object in the car that won't be used. In engineering land, we call that a "hazard" due to our 5S training.