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Ten Times Over the Legal Limit

German in Wheelchair Busted For Drunk Driving

A wheelchair-bound man was spotted by police driving down the middle of the road in a village in eastern Germany. When they breathalysed him they were shocked to find that he was ten times over the legal limit for drivers.

Whether it’s a truck or a wheelchair, German police don’t look too kindly on vehicles swerving down the middle of a road -- particularly if those operating them have had a few too many beers.

When a squad car patrolling the village of Ventschow, in northeastern Germany, spotted a wheelchair-bound man out on the open road late on Saturday night, the police officers suspected he might be under the influence. They were right. When he was given a breathalyzer test, they were stunned to find that he was a whopping ten times over the legal limit for drivers. He had a 0.5 percent blood alcohol content (BAC) -- the legal limit in Germany is 0.05 percent.

"He was right in the middle of the road," a spokesman for the police told Reuters Tuesday. "The officers couldn’t believe it when they saw the results of the breath test. That's a life- threatening figure."

The 31-year-old had been out partying with a pal, he confessed when pulled over. In fact he was just a mile from home when he was rumbled.

The concerned coppers tried to get the inebriated man to hospital in an ambulance, but he was not going quietly. After he resisted and put up a fight, they were forced to give him a police escort.

Now the authorities are faced with the tricky task of how to penalize this kind of behavior. Technically the man was traveling as a pedestrian, and so cannot be charged with a driving offence.

"It's not like we can impound his wheelchair," the police spokesman said. "But he is facing some sort of punishment. It's just not clear yet what that will be."

smd/dpa/reuters