Drunken German cyclists could face driving ban

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

BERLIN (AFP) — If you thought cycling home after the pub was a good idea, think again. A German court ruled Wednesday that inebriated cyclists could forfeit their right to drive a car.

The country's highest administrative court was ruling on the case of a man near Berlin whose licence was taken away after he was caught cycling with a blood-alcohol level four times the legal limit.

Medical tests found he was a heavy drinker and probably often in no state to cope with road hazards. The council appealed when a local court overruled the decision to revoke his licence.

Meanwhile other offences now look set to attract significantly stiffer sentences after Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved a raft of new measures aimed at reducing road deaths.

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