This will cut down the drunken drivers to a minimum but the problem being it'll be many years before all the older cars are gone and this is developed for new cars. Wouldn't it be great, no drunk or drugged drivers, no cell phones users and hopefully less idiots on the roads.

Sweat-analyzing AlcoStop system could thwart would-be drunk drivers

 

Having had not one but two drunks on Harley Davidson's plow into me over the years, I'm all for anything that will keep drunk drivers off the road. Texting while driving and talking on the cell phone while driving also need to be stopped. Anyone, ANYONE who tells me that they can text or converse on the phone while driving without it affecting their ability to drive safely is only fooling themselves.

 

and why is it that they always hold the phone in there left hand, blocking the window and mirror

 

in order to quickly speed dial their favorite doctor, lawyer and prison guard

 

I'm with you all the way on that Paul. The French have an enormous amount to learn in every respect about impaired driving and Sunday afternoons is a defo no no after lunchtimes, utter carnage on the roads. The penalties in France for DD or cellphone use are quite pathetic and certainly not a deterrent. One look at their accident and fatality rate vs other nothern eurpean countries speaks volumes.

 

I remember going to meeting and they would read off the different punishment in different country for DUI. In some of those eastern block countries your first offence was your last.

 

Well, both motorcyclists had a storied list of priors relating to DUI's.

The first guy that hit me back in '89 had a BAC of .262 while the second guy, in '94 had a level just over of .300. Most people would be comatose with that much alcohol in their system. Thanks to their drinking, they both lost their left legs from the knee down and a day doesn't go by that I don't flinch when I see an oncoming motorist stray too close to the center line.

Jim, the scariest thing I learned while I had my shop where you visited me in Gaylordsville, CT, was the sheer number of drivers, on the road, between 4 pm and 6 pm with a 12 pack situated next to them as they drove back to their workshops. In just about all the shops surrounding mine, the routine was to grab a twelve pack and pound back as many as you could before you reached the shop. Once there, punch out to end your day and hang out for a few to shoot the sh*t then proceed to drive home to the wife you couldn't stand while polishing off the remainder. Sometimes, consumption would also include a few mini bottles of whisky or vodka.

Our street is a byway off the main road offering a bit of seclusion for these guys. They try to avoid drinking on main thoroughfares thereby lowering the risk of running into the police. Empty beer cans and mini liquor bottles are easily spotted in the brush that lines our street. It's really the only litter you see, after all, I am in a VERY rural area.

 

The pi55 heads in France are learning the hard way now but the penalties for DUI are pathetic but during the spring and summer months the gendarmes are out doing random breath tests on motorists. Sunday afternoons is bad news, during their forays out to the restos they have aperatifs, wine and usually a few digestifs and then jump into their car and drive home completely out of their brains. More people are killed on the roads on a Sunday than any other day of the week and many are involved in fatal accidents where no other vehicle is involved, hmmm, I would say that's a god send. (whoever he is)

The ironic thing being is if you lose your licence, which doesn't happen on the first offence, you can drive a 'sans permis' car, admittedly they are crap and slow but preferable to cycling everywhere.

Voitures sans permis Microcar : Mini citadine écologique | Microcar

 

The only accident I've ever been in was a young kid texting while driving. I was 5 cars back at a red light and this kid in truck just plowed into my car at 30 - 35. I don't think he even hit the brakes. I looked up into the rear view 1 second before impact. My car was wrecked, I had only a couple scratches. Insurance paid me for the whole car and towed it away.