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‘Sleepwalking’ man cleared of driving drunk

A man stopped by police and found to be driving while heavily intoxicated has been cleared of drink driving by a Gothenburg appeals court as he was also fast asleep at the time.

Published: 4 October 2013 11:54 CEST

'Sleepwalking' man cleared of driving drunk

“It can of course be questioned whether it is even possible to be asleep while driving a truck in the circumstances which he claims to have done,” the court said in its ruling, but came to the conclusion that it was not beyond reasonable doubt.

The man was stopped 600 metres from his home at the wheel of his truck. He claimed that he awoke first when stopped by the police and his brother and girlfriend both supported his story that he was prone to sleepwalking.

He was found to have a blood alcohol content of 2.54 promille, far in excess of the Swedish legal limit of 0.2 and enough to be charged with aggravated drink driving which is punishable with up to two years imprisonment.

The man already has two prior convictions for drink driving and was sentenced to two months imprisonment by the district court.

In a separate ruling a truck driver found to have a blood alcohol content level of more than 1.0 promille was acquitted of drink driving charges as he had successfully blown into the alcohol lock on the vehicle.

The man explained that he had taken a break at a rest stop, drank beer and then took a rest with the engine running. In the morning he turned off the engine and blew into the lock.

The alcohol lock however does not work when the engine has recently been turned off, a fact that the man claimed he was unaware of.

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EXPLAINED: When can a child sit in the front seat of a car in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, a simple rule for taking children in motor vehicles has been in place for a good two decades: Every child up to a height of 150 cm or the age of 12 must travel in a suitable child seat.

Its Austrian neighbour has even stricter rules in place. Babies and children in Austria must be correctly secured in a child’s seat up to the age of 14 if they are below 135 cm in height.

The German law takes a more relaxed approach and regulates that children from the age of 12 or those that are taller than 150 cm can ride in the vehicle without a child seat – with the appropriate seat belt, of course.

When can a child sit in the front?

According to the law in Switzerland, once a child has reached a height of 150 cm, they can sit anywhere in the car with or without a child or booster seat.

However, a child needs to reach a minimum height of 150 cm for the safety belts to guarantee their safety in a way that the neck is not constricted while driving in the event of sudden braking or an accident.

In principle, children are allowed to sit on the front passenger seat regardless of their age, however, this is not recommended by experts who argue that children are much safer in the back of the car. Furthermore, if a vehicle is equipped with airbags, rear-facing car seats may only be used if the front airbag on the passenger’s side is deactivated.

A driver at the Stelvio Pass, Santa Maria Val Müstair, Switzerland.

A driver at the Stelvio Pass, Santa Maria Val Müstair, Switzerland. Photo by Jaromír Kavan on Unsplash

Can I be fined for my child travelling without an appropriate car seat?

You can and you will. The fine for transporting an unsecured child under the age of 12 is 60 francs, which, given the risk driving without an appropriate child seat poses to your child’s life, is mild.

But what about public transport?

Though this may seem illogical to some, Switzerland does not have any safety laws dictating that car seats be used on its buses, meaning it is not uncommon to see mothers standing in the aisle of a packed bus with a baby in a sling while struggling to hold on to a pole for stability.

Though politicians did briefly discuss equipping buses with baby and child seats in 2017 to avoid potential risks to minors, nothing came of it. Ultimately, supplying buses with special seats or introducing seat belts proved unrealistic given the number of seats and considering how often people hop on and off a bus – there is a stop almost every 300 metres in Switzerland.

Instead, drivers are now better informed of the dangers posed to minors travelling on their vehicles and parents are advised to leave children in strollers and not load those with heavy shopping bags.

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