Driving an e-scooter while drunk – penalties and alcohol limit?

E-scooters have been approved for use on roads for some time and make everyday life easier for people in cities and rural areas. The electric scooters take the driver to their destination quickly at around 20 km/h and are used for short journeys and small errands. You can buy an e-scooter yourself or rent it if necessary. Even if an e-scooter is smaller and more compact than a car, the same rules apply as when driving a car . On the one hand, drivers have to adhere to the traffic rules, and the same laws regarding drunk driving apply: Drunk driving on an e-scooter can have serious consequences. Riding an e-scooter while drunk is not a good idea and is borderline criminal.

These alcohol limits apply to e-scooters

Even though riding an e-scooter brings back childhood memories for many people, it is a real means of transport that takes part in road traffic and the same alcohol limits apply as with cars. How much alcohol is allowed on an e-scooter? 

Riding an e-scooter while drunk because you can no longer drive a car is not a solution, because anyone who is caught driving an e-scooter while drunk must expect a fine. Anyone who is found drunk while driving is checked by the police; in this case, the officers have to determine how much  alcohol there is in their blood. If the value is less than 0.3 per mille, the driver does not have to fear any consequences. From 0.3 per mille onwards, failures can occur , and driving in serpentine lines is no longer uncommon. From this value onwards, there is also an increased willingness to take risks. From this blood alcohol limit on an e-scooter one speaks of a relative unfitness to drive , but this does not constitute an administrative offense.

Anyone who is stopped while drunk on an e-scooter with a blood alcohol content of 0.5 is committing an administrative offense. If you have a blood alcohol level of 1.1 or more, you should never drive a vehicle under any circumstances. Anyone who drives drunk will be liable to prosecution in accordance with  Section 316 of the catalog of fines .

Riding an e-scooter while drunk: What are the penalties and what rules apply to e-scooters

Anyone who is stopped for drunk driving will be asked to take a breathalyzer test to determine their exact blood alcohol level.

If the driver is caught for such an offense for the first time and the blood alcohol level is 0.5, he does not have to expect a general driving license revocation, but a fine of around 500 euros. He is also punished with a one-month driving ban and receives two points in Flensburg . If the offense is repeated, there is a risk of a fine of around 1,000 euros and a longer driving ban.

Absolute driving impairment is 1.1 per mille or more; this can result in a fine and the driver can also expect their driving license to be revoked . In some cases, the criminal is not only worried about his driving license, violating the alcohol limit can also be punished with a prison sentence of up to one year .

E-scooters are considered a motor vehicle, and anyone who drives drunk is in most cases committing a crime that can even result in their driving license being revoked. In addition to the revocation of your driving license, there are various additional penalties.

Consequences for young, drunk drivers of e-scooters

A special regulation applies to young drivers and people on probation ; anyone who has drunk alcohol is no longer allowed to drive their vehicle. There is a zero blood alcohol limit for drivers under 21. The above regulation applies to people aged 21 and over, unless they are in the probationary period. During the two-year probationary period, you are not allowed to be noticed for driving drunk, neither in a car nor on an e-scooter.

Anyone caught driving an e-scooter while drunk may be denied the ability to drive a motor vehicle. An extension of the probationary period by two years is not uncommon for this offense.