According to the World Health Organization, more than one million people die in traffic accidents worldwide every year — which is why cars have long been recognized as a source of heightened danger. Yet we've grown so accustomed to thinking of a car as merely a means of transport that many people casually break traffic rules, gambling on being able to avoid the negative consequences of doing so.
Our client Evgeniy, a Russian national who has lived in Germany for more than 10 years, made the same reckless bet on his years of driving experience, deciding to get behind the wheel after a fun Saturday evening with friends and a few beers. Initially, Evgeniy had planned to stay overnight at a friend's place to properly celebrate the friend's housewarming and drive home only the next day. But midway through the evening, his parents called asking for his help the next morning with some urgent matters, so Evgeniy decided he absolutely needed to get home earlier — and in his own car.
Since he had already had quite a bit to drink by the time he spoke with his parents, he decided to stop drinking and sleep for a few hours. Waking up around three in the morning, Evgeniy felt that the effects of the alcohol had noticeably worn off, so he confidently walked to his car and got behind the wheel, ignoring the warning shouts of friends who were still celebrating.
Once on the road, Evgeniy was relieved to see the street was practically empty, and he expected to get home easily without taking much risk to himself or anyone else. Determined to drive as carefully as possible, our client — still feeling the effects of alcohol — drove slowly and, just to be safe, yielded to oncoming cars even at points where he had the right of way.
A police patrol couldn't help but notice this odd driving behavior and decided to look into it and check whether the driver was alright. Turning on their "Stop, police!" signal, the officers began approaching Evgeniy's car. Our client, who had never before broken a traffic rule or had any dealings with the police, panicked and decided to keep driving, hoping the police would simply pass him by.
Seeing that the driver wasn't responding to their order to stop, the officers switched on their warning blue lights to get Evgeniy's attention. But our client, under the influence of alcohol and gripped by panic, could think of nothing better than to speed up and swerve sharply into the first side street he came across.
The officers immediately switched on their siren and gave chase.
Evgeniy, no longer fully aware of what he was doing, drove through unfamiliar side streets, turning left and right, but the police car stayed right behind him. Picking up speed, our client tried to make a sharp turn onto a perpendicular street but lost control and crashed into a car parked on the shoulder with such force that it spun 90 degrees and struck another parked car nearby. Shocked by what had happened, our client jumped out of the car and ran down the street, where the police caught up with him and took him straight to the police station.
Because Evgeniy refused to voluntarily submit to a blood alcohol test, the officers contacted the public prosecutor's office, which obtained a court order for a compulsory blood test. After the test was carried out and his driving license confiscated, our client was released and allowed to go home.
Once he had fully come to his senses, Evgeniy realized that this incident could have very serious consequences for him, and decided to consult an experienced attorney right away for qualified legal advice and reliable representation before the authorities.
Our attorney, having carefully listened to Evgeniy's account, explained that the first step was to review the case file and determine exactly what our client was being accused of. To that end, he sent the relevant request to the public prosecutor's office. After carefully reviewing the available documents, the attorney informed Evgeniy that he was being charged with endangering road traffic (§315c of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch)), as well as leaving the scene of a traffic accident (§142 of the German Criminal Code).
According to the medical test, Evgeniy's blood alcohol level was 2.1‰. Driving with such a high blood alcohol level is treated as a criminal offense and can result in imprisonment for up to 1 year or a corresponding fine (§316 of the German Criminal Code).
In addition, the total damage caused during the accident exceeded €20,000.
Because Evgeniy had not merely driven while intoxicated but had also, as a result, caused significant damage to third-party property, §315c of the German Criminal Code applied — which carries a harsher penalty of up to 5 years' imprisonment or a larger fine.
These facts clearly worked against our client, who, however, fully admitted his guilt and felt deep shame over what he had done.
Naturally, there was no realistic hope of closing the case without any negative consequences for Evgeniy, but our attorney, drawing on his extensive professional experience, decided to send the public prosecutor's office an official letter setting out our client's legal position, in order to mitigate the penalty Evgeniy faced.
In that letter, the attorney stated that our client acknowledged his guilt and recognized that his conduct had been unlawful. At the same time, the attorney asked the prosecutor to take into account that family circumstances had forced Evgeniy to get behind the wheel while intoxicated, since he had originally planned to spend the night at his friend's place. Moreover, Evgeniy had deliberately slept for several hours specifically to avoid driving immediately, but had failed to fully gauge his level of intoxication — which later led to his panicked reaction to the police signals while driving.
The attorney placed particular emphasis on the fact that our client had never previously violated traffic rules and had no prior criminal record, meaning this incident had already served as a harsh lesson for him. Since Evgeniy was the father of two children and paid child support for a child from his first marriage, our attorney requested a lower fine in light of his financial situation. The attorney also requested that the driving ban proposed by the prosecutor's office be reduced by nearly half — from 21 months to 12.
The public prosecutor's office did not agree with our attorney's arguments, and the case went to trial. During the hearing, the attorney presented the court with documents supporting his arguments and maintained that Evgeniy, as a first-time offender, did not deserve as harsh a penalty as the prosecution was proposing. Having carefully considered both sides' arguments and reviewed the case file, the court agreed with our attorney's position and sentenced Evgeniy to a fine of €500.00, payable in installments, and cut the proposed driving ban in half.
Our client therefore received a considerably more lenient penalty. That said, we want to stress once again that driving under the influence of alcohol carries a very high risk of causing significant harm both to yourself and to others. And even where your conduct doesn't rise to the level of a criminal offense under the German Criminal Code, driving under the influence still carries administrative liability.
Under §24a of the German Road Traffic Act (Straßenverkehrsgesetz), it is an administrative offense to drive with a breath alcohol level of at least 0.25 mg/l or a blood alcohol level of at least 0.5‰. Where a traffic accident is also involved, a separate administrative offense applies starting at a blood alcohol level of just 0.3‰. In addition, drivers under the age of 21, as well as those who have held a license for less than two years (the so-called probationary period), are prohibited from driving with any detectable blood alcohol level whatsoever.
This example from our firm's practice clearly shows how engaging an experienced attorney — one who knows how to frame the right arguments and ground them in the relevant statutory provisions — can play a decisive role in the outcome of your case. For this reason, we strongly recommend not leaving such matters to chance, and seeking legal support in good time.
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