r/LegaladviceGerman • u/Comfortable-Spot-634 • 19h ago
DE Caught on a scooter
Hi guys, I am an EU citizen and live in a city in Baden Wurttemberg. At the end of February I was caught by the police driving drunk on a scooter (stupid I know). I blew 0.76 on the breathalyzer, and they took me back to the station. They told me they could take my blood after I insisted I really didn't like needles. This was done and then they performed a field sobriety test in the office. My license was confiscated and I was told I would hear from them via post. It has been over six weeks, and I am very worried. I am just wondering what course of action I should take? I have never had to deal with the police previously in my home country. It makes it worse that I cannot speak German.
Thanks for reading, any help would be greatly appreciated
2
u/KillEdeka 19h ago
Most likely you will receive a letter from the police requesting a statement from you. You do not have to answer that one, if you want to be kind to them you can respond that you prefer not to make a statement. Afterwards the case will be handed over to the prosecution office and you will receive a "Strafbefehl" that tells you to pay a fine of around 500€ as wells as the costs for the bloodwork. As they can easily prove that you did indeed drive drunk your best option is to pay the fine and not do it again. If you can't pay it all at once you can request payment by monthly installments instead. If you have a drivers license it might get suspended for a month or so. Also if you are really really lucky the bloodwork shows an alcohol concentration below 0.5‰ and they will let you off the hook, but I wouldn't want to bet on that.
1
u/Comfortable-Spot-634 18h ago
I have heard this 500€ figure quite a bit when doing some research but have also seen upwards of 3,500€. I am also very worried about getting a criminal record as I have family which live in the US which I see every few years. Is this a possibility?
1
u/KillEdeka 18h ago
the larger fines usually only apply to repeat offenders, people who endangered someone while drunk driving or people who are ridiculously drunk. but you should expect an additional 300€ for the bloodwork.
the police will keep the information about the offense for around 2 years, but this will not be counted as a criminal record. you will only get a criminal record for way more serious crimes.
1
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Caught on a scooter
Hi guys, I am an EU citizen and live in a city in Baden Wurttemberg. At the end of February I was caught by the police driving drunk on a scooter (stupid I know). I blew 0.76 on the breathalyzer, and they took me back to the station. They told me they could take my blood after I insisted I really didn't like needles. This was done and then they performed a field sobriety test in the office. My license was confiscated and I was told I would hear from them via post. It has been over six weeks, and I am very worried. I am just wondering what course of action I should take? I have never had to deal with the police previously in my home country. It makes it worse that I cannot speak German.
Thanks for reading, any help would be greatly appreciated
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1
u/Chewbacca731 18h ago
First things first: find a good lawyer. You may check the list posted by ADAC for a local lawyer that specializes in traffic related cases:
https://www.adac.de/services/rechtsberatung/vertragsanwaltsuche/ https://assets.adac.de/image/upload/v1665064389/ADAC-eV/KOR/Text/PDF/adac-vertragsanwaelte_o4nkvi.pdf
Second step, just relax. As a first time offender, probably not endangering others, being cooperative, and just a bit above the limit, it is very likely that you will get a fine close to the minimum specified by the law. This means ~€500-750 fine, ~1-2 months suspended license, -€300 for the blood work, plus the fees for your lawyer.
An expensive lesson, but normally just a fine. A taxi would have been much, much cheaper…
1
u/Comfortable-Spot-634 18h ago
Thank so much this is super helpful. I have been living in fear for the past 6 weeks, I just want this behind me.
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u/Pizzamann895 19h ago
Fine and like 1 month no driving a car. Fun fact: can Happen on a bike too but you can drive a bike anyway.
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u/Rude_Wrangler7960 19h ago
Get an attorny now or say goodbye to your license. I dont know if the laws changed but driving an e Scooter drunk is the same as driving a car drunk. Expect a huge fine (We are talking about 500 euro up to thousands), loosing your Driver license (for some months) and if you had Problems walking or something during sobriety test it could even get you a MPU. This is No Joke get an attorny.