Penalties for being drunk whilst cycling

Evening
A friend of mine got stopped by the police a few weeks ago whilst drunk on his bike. He must have been in quite a state because they made him leave the bike, took him to a clinic for a blood test, and then took him home to check his address and ID.
He got a letter yesterday saying his blood alcohol level was 2.0 promille (v high I think, despite him telling me he wasnt that bad!) and it says that he has to report to the local police station next wednesday.
I found another thread on here about this "Fines for being drunk on a bike, Cyclists pay �60 to �1,000" (sorry dont know how to add a link)
but its a couple of years old and no one mentioned such a high level of alcohol.
Does anyone know what they might do at the station?
Can they do anthing with a uk licence - ie points or driving ban?
Thanks

Probably ask him questions to find out if it worth prosecuting him
Tell him to say he was unaware of this law and he is sorry that it won't happen again as the law will have to prove that he is guilty off said offense but if you did not know off the law then how can they convict you

works for me

I'm pretty sure ignorance is not an excuse unfortunately...whoops, sorry officer, didn't realise that you're not allowed to murder people in Germany!

don't be silly if you kill some one then you cant plead ignorance

Quite so - and for a German citizen it would also mean points in Flensburg...

Just as telephoning with a "handy" (yeuck: the H-word) without a Freisprechanlage when on a bike.

I'm pretty sure thats also valid when riding a horse - most days here a girl rides by on a horse & shes telephoning the whole time. Luckily the horse knows the way...

Anything over 1.6 is considered to be in incapable for cycling (§ 316, § 315c StGB). He'll almost certainly have to go to court, can expect a fine of 40-50 times his daily income and up to 7 points in the Flensberg register (even if he is a foreigner or does not have a German driving license - points are allocated to the person, not the license). He may have to undergo psychiatric testing ("MPU") but this depends on the court. If he is required to undergo an MPU and "fails" he might lose his driving licence (even if English). An MPU is almost always the case if he was involved in an accident with this level of alcohol, but will depend on his demeanour with the police when they caught him and the opinion of the court. Given that he'll get 7 (presumably first-time) points on his record he'll only need one more point to trigger an automatic MPU in any case

Thanks for the replies.
Not sure about the ignorance plea, with so much alcohol in his blood he cant try to pretend he didnt know he was drunk.

Sounds like its a fine and points.

Where do you get your information from - looks like you are quoting from legal text "(§ 316, § 315c StGB)"?

The MPU test sounds a bit of a nightmare. He´s not been in trouble before and this is his first "encounter" with the german authorities.
Shall have to keep fingers crossed that it doesnt go this far.

Is he by chance a member of the CSU? Otherwise, it doesn't look too good.

StGB = Strafgesetzbuch = German Criminal Code

Section 315c Endangering Road Traffic


Section 316 Drunkenness in Traffic

A friend of a friend got a €3000 fine recently. I don't know how drunk he was

Thanks for the link to the StGB.
I am sure that he wasnt committing any of the traffic offences, so it should just be a drink driving charge.

A 3000 euro fine is a lot higher that I thought or than I´d read about.

One other question.
When he goes to the police station, will he need a lawyer?

Yeah, I was shocked too

It depends on what he earns. German law fines according to earnings. 40 days earnings would be typical for this offence. He can also opt to go to prison for a similar time. Horrific though that may sound, many people take this option.

Probably not, but he may need language assistance if he does not speak German, so he knows what is happening. The police will simply be documenting the case to present to the court. If he can afford it (or has legal insurance) a lawyer never hurts.

I know 2 people who cannot get through the MPU test and get there licence back.1 has been trying for 4 years on and off and the other about 2 years.
It's a nightmare.

actually you're only allowed to go up to 1.6 promille if you don't have any "Ausfallerscheinungen" (don't know if there's an english word for it)It means you must still have a reasonable amount of control over yourself.You usually have to pass the finger-to-finger and the finger-to-nose test before they let you go on. In that respect bikes and the MVV are the best way to go if you're drunk...(by the way we learnt this all in traffic ed at school^^).

No ...

1. He doesn´t have to go to the police station ...

2. He doesn´t have to say anything related to the incident ... except to prove his ID

3. He doesn´t have to sign a protocol or anything else ...

Google for "Privilege against Self-Incrimination/Right of Silence in Germany"

If he was riding the bike on a road then they will take his licence off him.Due to the fact that he was drunk in charge of a vehicle.Then a big fine , phsycologist test and a Verkehrs Erziehung course.They may ban him altogether in Germany from driving a vehicle

Then maybe its justifiable that they don't get their license back... There are such things as consequences (rarely)...

A friend of mine was caught cycling while over the limit when he was younger, before he even had a driver's license. He's had to do the MPU test, just to be allowed to get his license.

The test is notoriously difficult to pass. I suspect your friend is in for a hard time.

There you go...

If you are on a bike and on the road then you are part of the traffic.Driving under the influence while on a public highway.You will be fined and banned end of.

Oh yeah?

Agree with you there

QUOTE(MrT @ Apr 25 2008, 10:01 pm)
I know 2 people who cannot get through the MPU test and get there licence back.1 has been trying for 4 years on and off and the other about 2 years.. It's a nightmare.

Then maybe its justifiable that they don't get their license back... There are such things as consequences (rarely)...

Getting through the MPU is very difficult,as they test and ask you about your drinking habbits,and if you say you drink then basically you fail and then,no licence.
But before you even go for the MPU you need to pour loads of money into getting your self ready for the big test.

I also heard a story that some guy has to have is liver tested to see if he drinks every 6 months or so,If found to have alchol in his body then bye bye licence.

Just because somebody drinks does not mean they should not get there licence back.

High horse time here . A work colleague of mine has been banned 3 times for drink driving , taken the MPU a total of 7 times , failing 5 of those attempts . The judge at his last trial said to him that he wasn´t fit to ever drive any type of vehicle again , and he only avoided prison because he also has a small holding .

He has now acquired a Hungarian driving licence under very dubious circumstances . The point of this rant is that Drink driving is one of the most irresponsible selfish acts that a person can do , and if once convicted , it should indeed be very questionable if they can get their licence back , and i am all in favour of regular checks . Lets say one time caught is a slip , twice is dumb , and a third time should mean loss of licence for good .

Cycled home tipsy yesterday and changed the gears and... fell down! Had to walk home and left my bike where I fell'!Luckily no policemen around!

Hahahahaha, sorry but that's funny.

You were in no pain at all when you left us.

Anyway not even sure where the bike is exactly...

Now it's even better, thankyou from the bottom of my heart for cheering my day up

It was actually a friend, my husband unfortunately...

All of these are true. He's been "invited" to the police station for further documentation of the alleged offence. If he doesn't turn up the police will simply present their evidence (witness statements and proof of alcohol content in blood) to the state prosecutor, and he will simply be arrested to present himself to the court. Not "assisting" the police with their "enquiries" won't go down well when it comes to sentencing.
"I'd say going quietly was the best way to go..."

While I condemn drinking and driving/cycling, I do think there's something a little odd about the punishment for cycling while intoxicated.
A fine, counseling, etc. makes sense, but the potential loss of driver's license is a little strange in that you can ride a bike without a driver's license. In other words, you may lose your driver's license but are still permitted to ride a bike.

Directly related to traffic though.
And anyway, you can lose your drivers licence for offences completelly unrelated to participation in traffic.

Okay, but isn't it a bit odd that they take your automobile privileges away and continue to allow you to ride a bike even after you break the law on your bike?

They can't limit your ability to ride a bike as permission (or a license) is not required. I presume they are simply trying to prevent you from graduating to larger killing machines.

Oh, so it's more that they can't stop you from being a terror on a bicycle, not that they wouldn't want to.
That makes more sense.

Sober car drivers kill more people than drunk cyclists per capita. Even if you don't add drunk car drivers to the statistic.

Naturally the most important question: What citizenship does your "friend" have.
If he is from Nigeria, no problem.
If he is within the EU: He may loose his driving license altogether for several months.
That's why I drink at home, or take a taxi, or the U-Bahn

The philosophy behind the application of the same set of rules to cyclists as to motorized vehicle drivers is that the person was intentfully participating in traffic under the influence of alcohol using a vehicle. If you don't stop at a bike there is no guarantee you will not drive drunk.

If you do not have a driver's license and are caught drunk on a bike you can receive a ban that can prevent you from receiving your license once you've applied for it.

Under very specific circumstances your license can be revoked for being a drunken pedestrian. I think I have posted about the taxi driver before, lemme go look for it.

EDIT: Here you are

Whilst at first glance it might seem to make sense to take a driving license away from a pedestrian or cyclist this kind of 'pro-active sentencing' has ramifications. If a drunk cyclist or pedestrian could go on to kill someone in a car couldn't a muslim who prays his five times a day fly a plane into a big building and kill thousands? If you start punishing everyone who MAY commit an offence the's going to be a lot of people in jail and not many outside. Such a process sounds like a damn slippery slope to me. How many of us have been bitching at the US about Guantanamo but would nevertheless condone this sort of
punishing people on a 'they could commit a serious crime' basis?

The sentencing is not pro-active. You break the law by cycling drunk, you get punished for cycling drunk. Your driving license is given to you under the assumption that you're responsible enough to drive, if you go out and prove this assumption is wrong, that's your problem. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

Big difference: riding a bike while intoxicated is a) illegal and B) dangerous.
There is nothing intrinsically dangerous (let alone illegal) about prayer/faith.

without reading through all of this thread, how many Helles do you need to consume before you're over the limit

I know in UK, the limit starts around a pint and half

Hands on your head or on the trigger of your gun...

I'd agree, you can go there and chat to the boys and it might show some concern or regret. You don't have to answer their questions, or all of them anyway, but it would take a fairly sturdy frame of mind to do that. Good luck...


Not sure I follow your logic there, but if that's the reasoning behind the law it goes some way to explaining why I don't find it particularly sensible. Of course you need something to stop cyclists behaving like total idiots (and 2pm is pushing it Must have been some party!) and as you can't rely on people's common sense here that means a law. For my part I've never been so drunk that I've left my bike and gone home another way. If I were to go another way home it would be by foot, most likely, and then I'm likely to be almost as much risk to 'traffic'. Friday night I walked home across town after a friend's stag party, and I remember precious little about the journey but I'm sure I stopped at all red lights and looked left and right...


Strictly speaking for driving it's a max of 2, better one, but if you are involved in an accident it's less, one better zero. In practice I've observed the locals drinking much more... It also depends a lot on your body mass and other factors so it's a risky guess to make...

If you're talking about cycling, I'd say ~4 pints. YMMV, obviously.

This depends on so man factors, including:
-your sex
-your demeanour
-your metabolism
-your ability or otherwise to consume alcohol and how often you consume it
-what/when you last ate
-what/when you last drank
-what alcohol (or beer) you consume
As a very, rough guide, an average German (Bavarian half litre of) beer adds 5 promille to your alcohol accumulation, so at the end of that first beer, in theory, you are committing an offence to drive a car in Germany, and can consume 3 before you start to risk license issues on a bicycle.

Promille counter ... a recommendation from the Wikipedia article on Blutalkoholkonzentration

Guys, that position was based on the responses from, for example SaraByrd "If you don't stop at a bike there is no guarantee you will not drive drunk." and particularly wrt the judge who punished the pedestrian taxi driver because, in his opinion, the guy would not have been sober to drive the next day. That sounds like "preventive sentencing" to me.

we don't know much about the story, or the background - perhaps the police found him lying on that spot blind drunk very reguarly... if that was the case his alcohol level is most likely above a certain level all the time and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be getting into his taxi.