Though France has taken several measures in recent years to crack down on both speeding and driving under the influence of booze it's even taking more strident measures, including:

The major impetus is to combat drunk driving, now the primary cause of accidents in France

Banning alcohol sales in petrol stations

expanding use of car breathalyzers that prevent vehicles from starting if the driver's blood alc level is too high (it's being put in all schoolbuses as well)

Once convicted of DUI - drivers cars must have this ethylotest antidemarrage device installed - a 2nd offense means confiscation of the car

For speeders

500 new radar devices will be installed during each of next 5 years - more than doubling the number

speeding penalties will be increased - a SECOND OFFENSE FOR SPEEDING MORE THAN 50KM OVER LIMIT WILL RESULT IN VEHICLE CONFISCATION

Folks like me who have driven in France years ago as well as now will see the change - before there were nearly no controls with DUI or speeding - drinking wine at lunch and driving was a cultural right and rite it seemed

With severe anti-drunk measures including roadside checks and instant taking away of licenses the DUI rate has dropped - and so has restaurant revenue it's said as without the wine at lunch some did not go out

speeding was allowed at will - posted signs were only suggested it seemed - i remember cars speeding by a cavalcade of police cars on one autoroute!

Crackdowns began in earnest in 2001 and the number of deaths in the next five years declined by a whopping 42.9%

(Info comes from News from France and www.securiteroutiere.equipment,gouv.fr

Bonne Route!

The Netherlands just upped it fines by around 20% too. That means that phoning with a handheld mobile phone is now going to cost €150!
If you are caught going 50km above the speed limit you can already lose your vehicle and your licence.
Alcohol locks are being tested at the moment in Friesland, and if successful will become compulsory after the first offence with a n alcohol percentage over 0.8, and after a second offence over 0.5.

I think .05 may be too low for those harsh measures personally

Some Scandinavian countries have had levels of 0.00 for some time

Is the alcohol no control culture changing in Europe

I noticed in Amsterdam for the first time this Jan signs posted in a few places, like Museumplein's south end - no alcohol signs.

Surprised me - of course in America you can rarely drink in public anywhere anymore except at pre-game football games on college campuses it seems - figure that one out

I'm for personal responsibility as to alcohol consumption in public spaces - Drunk and Disorderly then arrest fine

Of course driving a car is much different but .05 is just a few Heinekens
Good for the taxi industry i guess.

and with public transport being so comprehensive in most parts of holland perhaps not a killer for pubs as it could be elsewhere

unfortunately here you have to drive to get to pubs - very few in neighborhoods

Scandinavian low limits are 0.2 (0.5 in Denmark & Finland)

Sweden is : 0.02% (up to 6 months imprisonment), 0.10% (up to 2 years imprisonment)

Some people have a low residual level, so a 0.0 limit has not been adopted.


Peter

When I was in Stockholm a couple years ago, our driver that met us at the airport had to breath into a breathalizor before the van would start, and when we took a city tour, it was the same for our bus driver. The vehicles wouldn't start until they used the breathalizer.

they should have had this in Helsinki some years ago when riding a bus about an hour into the countryside the driver was so obviously drunk - he reeked of booze and acted so.

Appalling.