E-scooters: Alcohol Limit And Penalties In Germany

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:17

There is a difference between motorized vehicles and bicycles when it comes to the alcohol limit in traffic. However, this means that e-scooter drivers are treated like motorists and that the stricter limits apply to them.

How this works in court and what penalties await you if you are controlled while drunk on the e-scooter depends on various other factors. Basically, from a value of 1.1 per mille onwards, you will be considered absolutely unsuitable for driving. For cyclists, this limit is currently usually 1.6 per thousand in court.

The consequences of drunk driving on a scooter do not only depend on the alcohol level determined. If the driver shows signs of failure at just 0.3 per mille, this can be considered a criminal offense and punished much more severely.

Anyone who believes that he is threatened less because he doesn't have a driver's license anyway is thinking a little too short-term. If a driver's license is to be obtained later, a corresponding notice of fines can mean an extension of the trial period. For e-scooter drivers under the age of 21 and novice drivers during the trial period, 0.0 per mille also applies to the e-scooter!

Anyone who drives a drunk e-scooter as a teenager from the age of 16 and gets caught may have to pass the so-called "Idiot Test" (MPU) before acquiring his later driving license.

Alcohol level	Consequences
0.5 - 1.09 per thousand	If the driver shows no alcohol-related abnormality, the drunk participation in traffic is considered an administrative offense. In this case, as a driver's license holder, he usually receives a fine of 500 euros, 2 points in the Flensburg register and 1 month driving ban. However, penalties of up to € 3,000, 2 points in Flensburg and a driving ban of up to 3 months are possible from 0.5 per mille.
from 1.1 per mille	From this alcohol limit, participation in road traffic on the e-scooter is also a criminal offense. In this case, the driver's license is withdrawn, but there is the option of voluntarily taking part in a medical psychological examination (MPU) to prove suitability for driving a motor vehicle.

We have put together for you what is prohibited on the e-scooter. Anyone who causes an accident while drunk on the scooter can first say goodbye to their driver's license. There are also 3 points in Flensburg and a fine. In severe cases, there is even a risk of imprisonment.

As I said: Ultimately, various factors come together, which count towards the penalty. For example, lawyers recommend refusing to "blow" into the alcohol breath meter if you are certain that it is of little value. Then the police officers have to decide whether to have a blood test. To do this, they must obtain a decision from a judge or prosecutor. The blood test is necessary anyway as evidence that can be used in a criminal offense (from 1.1 per mille). So if the meter shows such a value, it automatically goes to the blood test. However, police officers also shy away from requesting a blood test without specific information, since the police have to bear the costs if the result is negative. In this case, the police officers even commit physical injury in office and make themselves punishable.

So: If you have drunk even a glass of beer and then come to an alcohol control on the e-scooter, you should object to any alcohol test (blowing and taking blood). Your lawyer will thank you!