French Making In-Car Breathalyzers Mandatory

France plans on making in-car breathalyzers mandatory. What first comes to mind is all of the different political stand points that this could take on. But, in the article, it is explained that it is purely to help reduce the amount of under the influence deaths in France.

In the past decade, deaths have already halved to around 4,000 deaths a year due to safety precautions. Now, with the new mandatory law, the President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to get that number down to 3,000. Drivers that are caught driving without the $2 single-use breathalyzer will be sentenced a $23 fine.

Since no country has ever made in-car breathalyzers mandatory, there are tons of marketing opportunities. Automotive companies that are attempting to advertise their newest model car as one of the safest yet, could advertise that it comes with an in-car breathalyzer. This way, the new owner of the car would not have to worry about buying one.

Another opportunity is that the law states that you must have at least a single-use breathalyzer at all times. But, there are some people in Europe that are definitely out having drinks more than every once in a while. So, they might want a multi-use one. Or an extremely accurate one. So, this opens up a market for technology companies to create the best, most affordable and easy to use in-car breathalyzer for consumers in Europe. Who knows, this could eventually be a law that becomes enforced in the United States.

 Living in a college town and seeing people get into cars when they shouldn't makes me think that it might not be such a bad idea to enforce that law as soon as possible in the United States. Could this new law in France open an entirely new market for in-car breathalyzers?