A pensioner who repeatedly drove a wheelchair and electric quad while drunk in Malchin (Mecklenburg Lake District) has been sentenced to a fine.
Set off with residual alcohol in the blood
Judge Iris Hagedorn found the 73-year-old guilty of “drunken driving in two cases”. The senior citizen, who was slightly handicapped when walking, had previously confessed that in March and May 2024 he was driving in Malchin in the mornings under the influence of alcohol “with the help of a machine”, partly because his retirement home was somewhat isolated and he wanted to go into town sometimes. The verdict is already final.
“Back then, I always had a drink the night before,” the defendant explained frankly. He probably didn’t take the fact that he might still be “hungry” the next day as seriously as he should have. During his trip in a motorized wheelchair in March, at around 11:30 a.m., his breath alcohol level was measured at 1.2 per mille; a few weeks later, when he was riding the electric quad, it was 1.1 per mille – also at midday.
Instead of saying something, called the police
“It just annoys me that no one in the retirement home said anything before I left,” said the pensioner. Instead, someone called the police, who then made him blow into the gas when he returned. And besides, he didn’t endanger anyone because he “only rode on the sidewalk or bike path.”
“None of that helps, you’re not allowed to drive an electric vehicle like this while under the influence of alcohol,” the judge told him. “Then you’d better wait a day longer before you drive off next time,” said Hagedorn.
After his frank confession, the judge imposed a fine of 50 daily rates of 10 euros each. The rate of ten euros is based on income, and the convicted man must make do with a monthly pension of 650 euros, part of which is needed for the home.
Criminal records taken into account
The judge’s sentence was just below the prosecutor’s request. Two previous convictions were also taken into account, as this was not the man’s first drunken incident in a motorized wheelchair. He had already received fines for the previous incidents and had also lost his driving license.
The man from Malchin, around 25 kilometers away, preferred to take a taxi to the Neubrandenburg District Court, he said, because it was safer, including on the way back.
