OT New French breathalyser law

[Martin]

or to the back of the broken down car

[Nightjar]

Not according to the compulsory equipment section of the AA guide to driving abroad, for any country I've looked at.

Colin Bignell

[Chris J Dixon]

I came across a problem with using LED replacements for filament bulbs in a railway application. The existing installation used current sensing to detect bulb failure. With the LEDs, because of the multiple series/parallel matrix, with associated resistors, even if a significant proportion of the diodes had failed, the current drawn would be little changed, and the detector would not spot this.

The regulatory focus had been only on the mandated light distribution, the bigger picture had been missed.

Chris

[Huge]

[Martin]

You have to carry a reflective jacket, a first aid kit and a triangle in The Netherlands.

Finally I can throw away the spare bulb kit I bought in 1976.

[Martin]

[MuddyMike]

Is it in France where the reflective jacket has to be carried in the passenger compartment, not the boot?

Mike

[Nightjar]

AIUI, they require it to be within reach of the driver without getting out of the car. I keep mine in the pocket behind the front passenger seat.

Colin Bignell

[Martin]

The Dutch equivalent of the AA/RAC, the ANWB sells a family kit 2 XL jackets and two child sized jackets.

[djc]

I keep mine draped over the seat. The last time there was a road block set up to catch unsuspecting British motorists they waved me through.

[ARWadsworth]

I alway carry a couple of hi viz vests in my car (did carry I have just sold the car) and I also got a pair for both of my parents cars. They were free.

The thought of having to change an OS wheel without one in the dark on the A64 etc makes it worthwhile.

In the van I have a hi vis paramedics waterproof jacket. Along with the hi vis T Shirt and the waterproof hi vis trousers.

[Halmyre]

(speechless)

(fx: swoon...thud)

-- Halmyre

[Halmyre]

FFS. We're hoping to take the wife's MX5 to France and Italy this year. By the time we've got all the compulsory crap in it there'll be no room for her, the luggage and me. And I know where I'll be in the queue with the luggage...

-- Halmyre

[geoff]

In message , Martin writes

I bet they cost a bit more than the 60p that CPC were selling them for a while back

[Maurice Batey]

I saw a comment* that if you get stopped by the pollce in France and asked to get out of the car, if you don't first don the jacket you will be charged!

(* Somewhere in the interesting comments added at the press report at:

)

[Martin]

The thought of McDs on the A64 near Tadcaster turns my stomach.

and a nurses uniform :-)

[Martin]

In this case travelling with Ryanair makes more sense. Even they allow more luggage :-)

[Martin]

You are right. They cost about a fiver for four

You can have hours of fun reading this with Google Chrome doing the translating

[Martin]

The key part of that article is

"and will enable motorists to see if they are under the French limit of 50 mg per 100ml of blood which is 30 mg lower than in the UK."

[Jules Richardson]

I suspect it's hard to get a suitcase big enough to hold an MX5, though.