Offences and consequences
| What the law says | Where it goes wrong | What you do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Causing danger or obstruction | Art. 5: conduct is forbidden that causes OR MAY CAUSE danger, and also conduct that obstructs or may obstruct traffic. | Thinking something must have gone wrong. “May be caused” — the danger need not materialise. Nor is there a list: this is the catch-all provision. | Do not reason from “which rule am I breaking”; art. 5 asks about the effect, so look at what your behaviour causes for others. |
| Seriously dangerous driving | Art. 5a: DELIBERATELY breaching the rules seriously while danger to life or serious injury to another is to be feared. Art. 176(1): up to two years' imprisonment. | Taking this for a heavy fine. It is a criminal offence carrying imprisonment, and the law itself gives examples: dangerous overtaking, ignoring a red cross, needless use of the hard shoulder. | Know that this is a separate, heavier offence than art. 5 — and that intent is part of it. |
| Alcohol for a novice driver | Art. 8(3) sets a stricter limit: 0.2 per mille in blood, i.e. 88 micrograms per litre of exhaled air. The paragraph speaks of a MOTOR VEHICLE. | Applying the strict limit on a bicycle too. Paragraph 3 says “motor vehicle”; on a bike paragraph 2 applies with the ordinary limit. One word apart, two different rules. | Apply the stricter limit to yourself for as long as you are a novice driver, and do not gamble on the general one. |
| The penalty for drink-driving | Art. 176(2): imprisonment of up to ONE YEAR or a fourth-category fine. Not a tariff from a fine schedule. | Looking for a fixed amount. There is none: the court decides, and the fine category is index-linked. | Expect a criminal case, not a payment slip — with everything that entails for your licence and record. |
| Co-operating with the breath test | Art. 163(1): on suspicion of breaching article 8 the investigating officer MAY order co-operation with the test. | Seeing refusal as a way out. Refusing is a separate criminal offence — it avoids nothing. | Cooperate. Refusing is a second offence on top of the first and helps in no way. |
| Licence for the right category | Art. 107(1): the driver must hold a licence for the CATEGORY to which their vehicle belongs. Not “a licence”, but the right one. | Thinking B covers everything. A heavier combination needs E, a motorcycle needs A — with B only you are unlicensed, not “almost licensed”. | Carry the licence and show it on the first demand — art. 160 leaves no room to negotiate. |
| The licence loses its validity | Art. 123b(1) makes a licence lose its validity for ALL categories for which it was issued and for the remaining term, after an irrevocable conviction. | Thinking only the category you were driving lapses. It says “for all categories for which it was issued”. | Treat the licence as something you can LOSE, not merely something you pay for. |
The law itself
WVW1994 art. 5WVW1994 art. 5a lid 1WVW1994 art. 8 lid 3WVW1994 art. 107 lid 1WVW1994 art. 163 lid 1WVW1994 art. 176 lid 1WVW1994 art. 176 lid 2WVW1994 art. 123b lid 1WVW1994 art. 163 lid 2WVW1994 art. 176 lid 5WVW1994 art. 178 lid 1
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