When should driving bans be imposed on soldiers? Cases of hardship, case law and the opinion of a specialist

In principle, soldiers in road traffic are subject to the same penalties and measures for violating traffic regulations as other citizens.

If a driver’s license is to be revoked or a driving ban is to be ordered according to BKatV, this sometimes results in particular hardship for soldiers.

No revocation of the driver’s license, § 69 StGB

The driver’s license may not be revoked if the soldier concerned is not unsuitable for driving motor vehicles. Section 69 (2) of the Criminal Code sees confiscation as a rule for certain criminal offences: Endangering road traffic, prohibited motor vehicle racing, drunken driving, unauthorized departure from the scene of an accident and drunkenness.

In these cases, a defense must refer to the special circumstances in the Bundeswehr. The mere accessibility of the location – even if it is remote and cannot be reached by public transport in the morning – is usually not enough. In addition, there should be service impairments as soon as the soldier is no longer allowed to drive.

The law firm Steffgen has been defending fines and criminal offenses nationwide for over 21 years.

If a withdrawal of the private driver’s license cannot be avoided, the soldier can retain his official driver’s license as a milder measure. Some judges are not aware of this.

No driving ban in case of particular hardship

Accordingly, in the case of administrative offenses, a driving ban can be waived in the event of hardship.

Reason for hardship for conversion against duplication, because the Bundeswehr has courses to be completed at different locations, the wife is eight months pregnant and needs help with shopping (AG Eutin – 35 OWi 753 Js 32912/17 -124/17).

In the case of a 45 km/h violation outside (at the permitted 100 km/h), with three relevant previous entries (46 km/h outside, 24 and 22 km/h inside), armorer in the Bundeswehr, who is almost 100 km from his barracks lives away and regularly prepares services from 5 a.m., the driving ban was also waived (AG Bad Segeberg – 30 OWi 552 Js 66206/18).

Lawyer, specialist lawyer for traffic law and lieutenant colonel d. R. Christian Steffgen worked for the largest military professional association as a contract lawyer for 14 years.

A free initial assessment by e-mail or telephone is possible.

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