"I always confuse the amount of alcohol a driver is allowed to drink with the amount of alcohol you're allowed to take across the border."
Harry Hill
As the popular musician Herbert Grönemeyer sings, "Alkohol ist dein Sanitäter in der Not, Alkohol ist dein Fallschirm und dein Rettungsboot" ("Alcohol is your paramedic in an emergency, alcohol is your parachute and your lifeboat"). But then again, as he goes on to sing, "Alcohol is a ship you'll drown on." Whether to drink, how often, and how much is strictly a personal matter for every adult.
The key question in that case is whether drinking causes harm to others, creates unjustified risks, or poses a potential danger to other citizens.
These are questions every conscientious person, who respects both themself and others, should ask before getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. Everyone surely understands that a single careless act can affect the rest of one's life, yet again and again there are careless people who get behind the wheel while drunk. It's fine when it ends well, and admittedly reckless behavior often has no dire consequences — but in reality, unfortunately, we encounter many less fortunate cases. It's worth noting here that our firm is often approached not only by the victims of car accidents but also by those responsible for causing them. In such cases, an attorney, guided by the rules of professional ethics and regardless of the moral character of the act or their own personal views, is obliged to provide the client with competent and professional representation using every applicable legal mechanism.
As many of our readers already know, Germany takes a fairly liberal approach to the permissible amount of alcohol a driver may have consumed. There is thus no absolute ban on drinking and driving in the country:
- up to 0.30 per mille is permitted after two years of holding a driving licence;
- 0.30 to 0.49 per mille is permitted if there are no signs of impaired driving;
- 0.30 per mille or above combined with signs of impaired driving is an offense carrying criminal liability under § 316 of the Criminal Code (StGB);
- 0.50 to 1.09 per mille without signs of impaired driving is an administrative offense under § 24a of the Road Traffic Act (StVG);
- 1.10 per mille and above is an offense carrying criminal liability under § 316 of the Criminal Code (StGB);
- 0.31 per mille and above, or intoxication by drugs, combined with an accident or the risk of one: a more serious offense under § 315c StGB.
Signs of impaired driving can include traffic violations or deviations from normal driving behavior, such as weaving within a lane, sudden braking, jerky acceleration, and other signs pointing to impaired reaction time or attention.
So even with Germany's relatively lenient rules on permissible alcohol consumption while driving, every driver of a motor vehicle — an inherently dangerous means of transport — needs to be clearly aware of their own limits, as well as the potential consequences of careless decisions. Unfortunately, the sobering statistics again and again show that this kind of irresponsible behavior behind the wheel is common among our compatriots, putting their own lives and the lives of others at unjustified risk. We tell readers about one such case in this article.
The Client's Story: Making a Living on the Road Between Ukraine and Germany
A young man came to our firm — let's call him Sergey — a Ukrainian citizen. Not yet thirty, he had already tried his hand at several trades, looking for his place in life and taking on any work that paid. A talent for driving had always been his strong suit, and he tried to put it to good use earning money. For a while, Sergey drove used German cars to buyers in Ukraine. When that business became less profitable, our future client opened a small tire shop, serving customers from the area around a small town in Ukraine. Business was reasonably successful, but the high season was seasonal, and the income from the shop wasn't enough for a carefree life. After getting married and having his first child, it became clear he needed additional income. So he bought a used truck in good technical condition and, from time to time, took on individual jobs — hauling goods between Ukraine and other European countries. Everything would have been fine, if not for that fateful trip to Germany that ended with criminal proceedings against Sergey.
A Friday Night at the Bar and a Collision in a Motel Parking Lot
It all happened on a Friday evening. Sergey and a friend had arrived in Germany, were due to hand over some goods, and planned to head back home the next day with a load. Truth be told, the two men were apparently tired of everyday routine and wanted to enjoy some time away from their families, to feel unburdened by family duties again, as carefree as in their youth. Normally not drinkers, they stepped into the first German bar they liked the look of. The draft beer, generously served to the guests, was of impeccable quality and taste. Within an hour, the two had lost count of how much they'd had; they were having a great, relaxed time in the noisy bar, trading witty jokes and funny stories, but, unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.
By the time the clock struck past midnight, it was time to wrap up and head to a nearby motel for the night. Sergey, who considered himself a complete professional at everything to do with driving and had already, on a couple of occasions, driven while intoxicated, got behind the wheel again this time. Despite having had quite a lot to drink, the two men behaved fairly sensibly. Using their navigation app, they picked a modest motel about five kilometers from the bar and slowly headed toward their lodging for the night. Unfortunately, an evening that had started so well ended on a far less fortunate note. Already in the motel's parking lot, Sergey failed to notice a parked BMW and crashed fairly hard into the back of it, smashing the taillight and thoroughly denting the bumper.
What's more, there were people inside the damaged car, who of course got out immediately and confronted the hapless driver with entirely justified complaints. Flustered in the stressful situation, the young man began apologizing in broken English and even offering money as compensation. This behavior, so unlike that of upstanding German citizens, was not received well by those affected. Simply shrugging in surprise and suspecting the driver was intoxicated, they began calling the police to the scene. Imagine their surprise and indignation when the young men who had caused significant damage to the car, frightened by the prospect of serious consequences, jumped back into their car and fled the scene.
Unfortunately for them, the affected parties had managed to note down the Ukrainian license plate of the fleeing car. Sergey and his friend, now completely sobered up by the stress of the situation, drove off wherever their eyes led them, away from the unfortunate scene. They turned into a dark alley, where they left the car after first removing its license plates. Without giving it much thought, they then threw the removed plates onto the back seat of a car parked in a nearby courtyard. That day had already brought more than enough adventure. Believing nothing more could go wrong, the two young men found the nearest cheap hotel and went to sleep, hoping things would look better in the morning.
The Attorney's Work: Admitting Guilt and Minimizing the Punishment
Worried about the possible consequences of that unfortunate night, Sergey turned to our firm so that an attorney could help him understand the legal fallout of the incident. Having received the necessary authorization from the client, the attorney first requested the relevant records in the case from the police. As it turned out, criminal proceedings had been opened against Sergey under § 142 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) — unlawfully leaving the scene of an accident — and § 316 StGB — driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. If convicted in criminal proceedings, Sergey faced not only the loss of his driving licence but also imprisonment for up to three years.
Given the witness testimony available in this case, it made no sense to deny Sergey's guilt outright. The attorney therefore focused his efforts on securing the most lenient possible outcome for his client. He represented the client's interests in court proceedings. Having gathered evidence, he argued that this was the first time Sergey had committed such an offense, that he had fully compensated those affected, that he deeply regretted what he had done, and that he would not repeat such conduct in the future.
Thanks to the arguments presented by the attorney, the punishment was reduced to a fine and a six-month driving ban. In this case, that was an excellent outcome for a professional's work.
Conclusion
We sincerely wish every driver to stay vigilant and avoid putting the life, health, and property of those around them at needless risk. Our attorneys remain at your service should trouble already have occurred and you need the help of a qualified professional.
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