Road safety
From Wednesday 1 May, new rules for alcohol checks in traffic will apply. Drivers can no longer ask for a 15-minute delay before they have to blow. The new measure would allow the police to carry out more checks in the same time.
Today, drivers are allowed to request a 15-minute break during an alcohol test before blowing into the measuring device. That right expires next week on May 1, and all checks will be carried out immediately from that moment on.
The short break option was originally intended to neutralize the so-called ‘mouth alcohol effect’. It was assumed that the breath test result could be distorted if the driver had drunk alcohol just before getting into the car. However, modern measuring equipment can detect and neutralize this distortion automatically and 100 percent reliably. The waiting time is therefore no longer necessary.
On the other hand, alcohol checks will also become easier from July 1. The minimum volume of exhaled air is reduced from 1.9 liters to 1.2 liters. With the technology of current devices, this amount is sufficient to obtain valid results. This should also save the police time. The 1.9 liter threshold was too difficult for some people with breathing difficulties. A doctor then had to take a blood sample, which made the procedure longer and more complicated.
All For Zero-plan
For the police forces on the ground, nothing changes in the way they carry out the checks, except that they can carry out more checks in the same time. The introduction of these changes does not require additional investments because the current devices are automatically adjusted.
“Making alcohol checks more effective will also contribute to the All For Zero plan’s target of checking 1 in 3 drivers every year,” said spokesman Thomas Delchambre of Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet. “It also complements one of the most important measures in the federal action plan: the lowering of the tolerance threshold for alcohol consumption. Since last year, this has led to the immediate and temporary withdrawal of the driver’s license for an alcohol intake of 1.2 per mille.”
