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If you can’t help it: Driving without a license

A contribution by Michael Böhler, lawyer and specialist lawyer for traffic law, Konstanz

Anyone who has had their driving license withdrawn (e.g. because of drugs, alcohol or reaching 8 points in the driver’s license register) or who has been banned from driving (e.g. because of a speeding or red light violation) is liable to prosecution if they drive motorized again .

Section 21 (1) of the StVG prescribes

Anyone who is punished with imprisonment for up to one year or a fine

1.
drives a motor vehicle although he does not have the required driving license or he is prohibited from driving the vehicle under Section 44 of the Criminal Code or under Section 25 of this Act, or
2.
as the keeper of a motor vehicle, orders or permits someone to drive the vehicle who does not have the required driving license or who is prohibited from driving the vehicle according to Section 44 of the Criminal Code or Section 25 of this Act

You don’t even have to be behind the wheel yourself, you just have to tolerate the drive as the owner in order to be punished.

Section 21 (3) StVG even threatens repeat offenders with the confiscation of their vehicle, which shows that driving without a license is not considered a minor offense.

In addition to imprisonment or a fine, 3 points are entered in the register of fitness to drive and a blocking period of six months is imposed, so that the driving license authority may only issue the driving license again after the license has expired, sometimes even threatening a medical-psychological examination.

HCommon: Drive with one no longer valid foreign driver’s license!

Many road users from abroad do not know that they can only drive in Germany for six months with a driver’s license from their home country, cf. Section 29 (1) sentence 3 FeV. The case law assumes that the driver is in a so-called avoidable error of prohibition if he assumes that his foreign driving license is still valid.

In the case of this offense, the defense is usually directed towards mitigating the consequences, in particular reducing the fine and shortening the embargo. The range of penalties is also significantly reduced if no intent, but only negligence according to Section 21 (2) StVG can be proven.

As an experienced defense attorney, I am happy to represent your interests!

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