Barfing Oktoberfest drunks face taxi cleanup fees

The case involved a lawsuit brought by a taxi driver in the Bavarian capital following a nasty 2009 incident in his vehicle, a court statement said.

After picking up a Munich couple on their way home from the city’s annual beer festival, the driver said the man threw up in his vehicle, which cost a combined €241 for cleanup and missed work.

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The taxi driver attempted to charge the passenger, but he alleged that the driver had not obliged his request to pull over, and had berated him instead.

“It is undisputed that the defendant vomited in the taxi during the drive and soiled the taxi,” the court said in a statement, calling the act a breach of the “contract of carriage.”

“Those who drunkenly get into taxis must calculate that they might have to vomit,” the court said. “In principle they then owe payment of cleaning costs.”

But because the driver did not stop immediately, he was also at fault for the incident, and would therefore receive only half of the sum which he requested.

The ruling, made on September 2, is effective immediately, meaning drunken revellers at this year’s ongoing 200th Anniversary Oktoberfest celebration should think twice before they stumble into a cab.

The Local/ka

Munich’s Oktoberfest runs from September 18 until October 4 this year. A special historical area offering old carousels, special beer and other attractions will open one day earlier for the 200th anniversary celebrations.

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