Skip to main content

At fault?

In Austria police stopped a vehicle when they suspected its driver of being under the influence. The passenger ended up being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol when the driver jumped into the back seat. Police charged the passenger even though he said he had to grab the wheel to stop the car going over a cliff. The driver of the vehicle was however also charged with drink-driving.
February 28, 2012 Read time: 1 min
In Austria police stopped a vehicle when they suspected its driver of being under the influence. The passenger ended up being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol when the driver jumped into the back seat. Police charged the passenger even though he said he had to grab the wheel to stop the car going over a cliff. The driver of the vehicle was however also charged with drink-driving.

Related Content

  • Nose knows no offence?
    February 23, 2012
    A British motorist was recently stopped by police and charged for the offence of blowing his nose while his vehicle was at a standstill. The man had stopped his van in traffic and opted to use the time to wipe his nose with a handkerchief. He was then stopped by police who told him he had not been in control of his vehicle. For this offence he was fined €5.76 and given three points on his driving licence. The driver said that he thought the policeman was joking at first but quickly realised that the officer
  • Getting fried
    January 27, 2017
    An Australian man in the city of Adelaide was recently stopped by police for suspicious behaviour. The officers then found he had replaced the steering wheel of his car with a frying pan. Police were called after reports of a man loitering and when they arrived at the scene, he got into his car and drove off at speed. The police set off in pursuit and were able to stop the man, realising then that the vehicle was neither insured nor registered, while its licence plates had been changed illegally. A quick in
  • Enforcement lack affects safety on Europe’s roads
    June 17, 2016
    Insufficient police enforcement across Europe is damaging road safety, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). Two reports available through the ETSC say that a fall in the level of police enforcement of traffic offences is contributing to Europe’s failure to cut the numbers dying in road collisions. More than 26,000 people died on EU roads last year, the first increase since 2001 according to the ETSC annual road safety performance index (PIN) report. Exceeding speed limits, drink or
  • Europe’s road safety targets at risk
    July 10, 2015
    This new analysis has been published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). According to the ETSC data, 2014 showed the lowest annual reduction in EU road deaths since 2001. In all 25,845 people were killed in road crashes in the 28 nations of the EU during 2014. This represented a decrease of just 0.6% compared to 2013. EU member states now need to cut deaths by almost 8% each year until 2020 to meet the target set in 2010 to halve deaths within a decade.