Fines for drunk driving in Germany: What penalties are drivers exposed to for driving under the influence of alcohol?
In Germany, an alcohol content intake of up to 0.5 per mile is allowed, with the exception of young drivers (up to 21 years of age), inexperienced drivers (those who have a driving license for less than two years) and professional drivers.
The above-mentioned groups are absolutely obligated to the level of 0.0 per mile. If the driver commits a traffic violation while driving or causes an accident, the permitted alcohol limit drops to 0.3 per mile. In the event of an accident, the classification of the infringement from the offence to a crime also changes.
Fines for drunk driving in Germany: The amount depends
Should the driver have an excess of the required blood alcohol content this should happen:
- up to 0.5 per mile will not be fined
- from 0.3 to 1.09 per mile can be punished with a fine of 500 to 1500 euros and two penalty points. His driving license can be kept for 1 to 3 months.
- Above 1.1 per mile is a crime. He/she will be punished with a high fine, imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years and a maximum of 3 penalty points, as well as revoking the license to drive a vehicle.
In Germany, you cannot negotiate the amount of the fine with the police, because there is a catalogue of offences here, i.e. Bussgeldkatalog.
Idiotentest for drunk drivers
Drunken drivers are subjected to the so-called “Idiotentest”, or the so-called the idiot test. It is used in the case of drivers who had more than 1.6 per mile in their blood.
The cost of one exam attempt is around 800 euros, and passing the exam is almost a impossible.
Drunken driving fines in Germany: Cyclists
Should a cyclist who is found to have alcohol in the blood in an amount exceeding 1.6 per mile is directed to the so-called medical and psychological examination (German: Medizinisch-Psychologische Untersuchung, MPU), consisting of medical examinations and an interview
with a psychologist.
Negative results of the test result in the forfeiting of the driving license for the car, if any.
source: Bussgeldkatalog.org