Breathalyzers become part of the vehicles' equipment, which prevent the engine from starting if the presence of alcohol in the blood is detected. The EU is determined to combat the phenomenon of drunk driving, which is one of the most frequent causes of serious road accidents. In this context, according to Regulation 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council, all new vehicles that get type approval from 6 July 2022 must incorporate a pre-installation that can accept a breathalyzer. However, it is up to each EU Member State to decide in which cases drivers will be required to fit a breathalyzer into their vehicles. At the moment there are not many countries that have made breathalyzer integration mandatory with the exception of Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands in the transport of goods and people sector and France where the device is mandatory for school bus drivers. Breathalyzers give the "present" in Spain as well, specifically in the M2 and M3 vehicle categories, i.e. those that perform passenger transport services with more than 8 seats, not including the driver's seat. In the country of the Iberian Peninsula, since the vehicles in question are pre-installed with a breathalyzer they must already incorporate it. If, however, the pre-installation does not exist, from July 2024 this will be standard from the factory on M2 and M3 category vehicles and therefore the devices will have to be integrated in them so that their drivers can self-test for breathalyzers before they start their journey. However, according to an official of Spain's national road safety agency, for now the government does not aim to make breathalyzers compulsory in other vehicles such as cars. The operation of the breathalyzer is very simple. The driver blows into the special device and if an alcohol percentage above the limit is detected, the system does not allow the car's engine to start. The blood alcohol measurement process takes about 25 seconds.
Source: carandmotor.gr