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Drunken cyclists no longer risk losing driver's licence

21:41 13/06/2017

The Belgian chamber's standing committee on infrastructure on Tuesday approved a proposal submitted by Open VLD's Sabien Lahaye-Battheu, which calls for an amendment to the law on public intoxication. The current sanction does not fit the crime, she says.

Cyclists who get caught riding their bike while drunk risk losing their car driver's licence, in addition to a fine. "In case of an excessive blood alcohol concentration, the public prosecutor is also notified," explains Lahaye-Battheu. "This leads to a lawsuit a few hundred times a year, with the driver's licence being revoked for a month."

The competent committee has now approved a bill that says the court is no longer obliged to revoke the licence. The possibility remains, but the judge must decide on a case-by-case basis.

“Of course, we do not want to encourage or approve public inebriation, but there is no connection between cycling and driver's licences. And you can not even apply this revocation to people without a licence," says Lahaye-Battheu.

Written by Robyn Boyle

Comments

Mikek1300gt

Only in Belgium.....

Jun 13, 2017 22:48
CM

Yes, in the UK there has never been any connection between riding a bike pissed and losing your licence. It's a silly law and it's good they're getting rid.

Jun 14, 2017 10:30
Tim_Finnerty_12...

You could make an argument that riding your bike drunk is dangerous from a traffic / public roadways point of view and should reflect on the person's use of other vehicles on public ways.

Jun 15, 2017 09:33