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Could Norway introduce mandatory inbuilt car breathalysers?

Norway should implement inbuilt breathalysers in all commercial and private vehicles, a trade union group has said.

Published: 26 April 2021 16:21 CEST
Could Norway introduce mandatory inbuilt car breathalysers?
Traffic in Oslo. Photo by MART PRODUCTION from Pexels

The United Federation of Trade Unions is lobbying for the introduction of ignition interlock devices, which prevent a car from being started if the driver is over the legal alcohol limit, in all cars.

“All motor vehicles, both private cars and commercial vehicles, should have ignition interlock devices as standard,” Geir Kvam, an advisor to the Social Policy Department at the United Federation of Trade Unions, told newspaper Dagavisen.

“Driving under the influence is very serious with massive potential for accidents. An inbuilt breathalyser is an effective tool that can prevent drink driving,” he added.

Labour politician Marit Nybakk is also in favour of inbuilt breathalysers.

“I believe that all use of ignition interlock devices can help reduce accidents and fatalities in traffic, a goal that is set out in the zero vision [target for zero traffic accident fatalities, ed.] that parliament adopted. The most important thing (to help achieve the goal) is to prevent drink-driving, which is a criminal offence,” Nybakk told Dagavisen.

Work is currently underway in both Norway and the EU to expand the use of inbuilt car breathalysers. Kvam said he believes it may be some time before we see the breathalysers introduced.

“This is being worked on in the EU, but there is a long way to go, including coordinating a common European alcohol limit and equal penalties,” he said. 

Kvam has provided input to the EU committee assessing the use of ignition interlocks and has suggested a limit of a 0.02 Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). Blood Alcohol Concentration refers to the percentage of alcohol in one’s bloodstream. In Norway, the drink driving limit is a BAC of 0.02.

This is roughly equivalent to a beer, glass of wine or one single measure spirit and mixer beverage.

If you are caught driving with a BAC of 0.05 and above in Norway, it will result in a driving ban. A BAC of 0.05 is equivalent to about three beers, three glasses of wine or three single measure spirit and mixer drinks.

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Currently, the breathalysers are only mandatory for busses and minivans in Norway.

The Norwegian Truck Owners Association (Norges Lastebileier-Forbund) has backed the idea but says that it wants to see the law implemented across Europe first.

“Since the Norwegian transport industry is competing with fierce international competition, any requirement for breathalysers must apply to all participants in the European market. There is no point in making it mandatory just in Norway. This would entail costs and measures that will make it harder for Norwegian firms to compete. Any requirement must therefore be Europe-wide,” Geir A. Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Truck Owners Association, told Dagavisen.

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DRIVING

Norway sees electric vehicles outnumber petrol cars for the first time

Electric cars now outnumber petrol models for the first time in oil-rich Norway, a world first that puts the country on track towards taking fossil fuel vehicles off the road.

Published: 17 September 2024 13:44 CEST
Norway sees electric vehicles outnumber petrol cars for the first time

Of the 2.8 million private cars registered in Norway, 754,303 are all-electric, compared to 753,905 that run on petrol, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), an industry organisation, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Diesel models remain most numerous at just under one million, but their sales are falling rapidly.

“This is historic. A milestone few saw coming 10 years ago,” OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement.

“The electrification of the fleet of passenger cars is going quickly, and Norway is thereby rapidly moving towards becoming the first country in the world with a passenger car fleet dominated by electric cars,” Thorsen said.

“As far as I know, no other country in the world is in the same situation” with EVs outnumbering petrol cars, he told AFP.

READ ALSO: The punishments for Norway’s most common traffic offences

Norway, paradoxically a major oil and gas producer, has set a target to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2025, 10 years ahead of the European Union’s goal. Norway is not an EU member.

Boosted by sales of the Tesla Model Y, all-electric vehicles made up a record 94.3 percent of new car registrations in August in Norway, a sharp contrast to EV struggles seen elsewhere in Europe.

“We’re almost there,” cheered Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.

“Now the government just has to make a little extra effort in the 2025 budget bill (to be presented to parliament on October 7) and resist the temptation to raise taxes on EVs while continuing to increase those on fuel cars,” she told AFP.

In a bid to electrify road transport to help meet Norway’s climate commitments, authorities have offered generous tax rebates on EVs, making them competitively priced compared to highly-taxed fuel and diesel cars, as well as hybrid vehicles.

Several other EV incentives — including exemptions on inner city tolls, free parking and use of collective transport lanes — have also played a role in Norway’s success, even though those have gradually been rolled back over the years.

Sharp contrast with Europe

Norway has come a long way in 20 years: in September 2004, the country’s car fleet counted 1.6 million petrol cars, around 230,000 diesel cars and just 1,000 EVs, OFV noted.

The transition to EVs has played a big role in Norway’s efforts to meet its climate commitments, which include a 55-percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 from 1990 levels.

But it is not enough.

In 2023, emissions shrank by 4.7 percent from the previous year, according to official statistics, but the decline compared to 1990 was just 9.1 percent.

Electric cars are considered even more climate-friendly in Norway, where almost all electricity is generated by hydro power.

This success story contrasts sharply with the situation in the rest of Europe, where sales of EVs are slumping as hybrid models prove more popular.

Electric car sales began falling at the end of 2023, and account for just 12.5 percent of new cars sold on the continent since the start of the year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Their share of the market is expected to increase sharply in 2025, to between 20 and 24 percent of new car registrations, according to think tank Transport & Environment (T&E).

Some doubt the EU’s ability to completely ban fuel and diesel cars by 2035.

In Norway’s neighbour and EU member Sweden, sales of new EVs have decreased this year for the first time, according to industry group Mobility Sweden, likely the result of a government decision to remove a rebate on EV purchases.

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