Drinking and riding a bike or scooter
Drinking and riding a bike or scooter
"Having read in the papers that people who were drunk on their scooters had lost their licences in Germany, I wondered if the same could happen here, whether on a scooter or a bike?
Elisabeth, Geneva
In Switzerland, the Road Traffic Act (RTA) lays down the basic rules that must be observed on the road. Article 31 of the LCR states that any person who is not physically or mentally fit to drive a vehicle because he or she is under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, medication or for other reasons is deemed incapable of driving during this period and must refrain from doing so.
To answer your question, you first need to know what the law means by "vehicle". Article 7 LCR defines a motor vehicle as one that has its own propulsion system enabling it to travel on land without having to follow a track. A distinction must therefore be made between bicycles without electric assistance and bicycles with electric assistance. A bicycle without electric assistance is a vehicle without a motor within the meaning of Articles 18 et seq. of the Swiss Road Traffic Act.
Being drunk on a simple cycle is only a minor offence punishable by a fine, even if the blood alcohol level is over 0.8 per thousand. However, the situation is quite different when it comes to electric bicycles. The Ordinance on Technical Requirements for Road Vehicles (OETV) specifies that such a bicycle, since it is equipped with its own propulsion system, is treated in the same way as a moped, while distinguishing between bicycles travelling at speeds of up to 25 km/h, which are considered light mopeds, and those travelling at speeds of up to 45 km/h, the latter category requiring a licence plate and a licence.
According to the letter of the law, an electric bicycle is therefore a motor vehicle, but the Federal Court has not yet confirmed that this is the case for light mopeds under criminal law. Nevertheless, there is a risk of such an assimilation, especially as our Supreme Court this summer sentenced an alcohol-impaired driver on a 45km/h bike on the grounds that it was a motor vehicle.
To be on the safe side, you should therefore consider that drink-driving an electric two-wheeler could be subject to the same penalties as those applicable to car drivers.
