Over 2.0 per mille – and the rag was gone. This is what happened to a 38-year-old Swiss man. There was just one catch: he wasn't even behind the wheel.
Thurgau – He really had something to celebrate: Having just become a father, a Swiss man toasted it with a friend at home. The evening finally ended with his withdrawal driving license. Curious, because the man wasn't actually driving his car.
Alcohol test positive: Swiss man has to surrender his driver's license because he drinks at home
The evening in question occurred in September 2023. And the process is not yet over (as of February 7th). At 10 p.m. the police were at the man's door, like the portal 20 minutes reported. The reason: loud music. The 38-year-old explained that he rarely drinks alcohol. Nevertheless, the police demanded an alcohol test that evening.
And the result was positive at over two per thousand. The police left the revelers after promising to be quieter, but two weeks later the Swiss was surprised by a letter.
“I've never heard of that before”: Swiss loses driver's license without having driven
However, the reason for the letter was not the loud music. Rather, it was about his driver's license. It was said that he had to give it up. However, the 38-year-old assured the portal that he had neither driven a car nor had any plans to do so during the rest of the evening. It was a shock: “I’ve never heard of it being possible to lose your ID at home,” he said. The result: The man hired a lawyer. However, there was no success.
As the lawyer explained to his client, there is no clear case law in such a case. However, the objection lodged was rejected due to the high blood alcohol level. How 20 minutes quoted from a letter between lawyer and client, in this case “the judges assumed that the alcohol levels determined by the police could indicate a certain habituation to alcohol and thus possibly preclude the ability to drive”.
The Swiss have high costs after handing over a driving license – could this also happen in Germany?
“I'm not an alcoholic, I drink far less alcohol than the average person,” he told the Swiss portal. Getting his driver's license back involves costs for the man. He must provide proof that he is not addicted to alcohol. The 38-year-old described this as “unfair”. Such an assessment costs the equivalent of just under 1,600 euros. In addition to the financial costs, there are also around 4,300 euros for a lawyer and an objection. By the way, the latter corresponds almost to the amount that a driving license costs today.
The fact is: the police can act in the same way in this country as in Switzerland. The basis is the Road Traffic Act § 2 Paragraph 12. According to this, the police are authorized to pass on information to the driving license authorities – even if the person in question was not behind the wheel. This applies if the officers can suspect that the person is generally unfit to drive. (mbr)
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