'Sleepwalking' man cleared of driving drunk
A man stopped by police and found to be driving while heavily intoxicated has been cleared of drink driving by a Gothenburg appeals court as he was also fast asleep at the time.
"It can of course be questioned whether it is even possible to be asleep while driving a truck in the circumstances which he claims to have done," the court said in its ruling, but came to the conclusion that it was not beyond reasonable doubt.
The man was stopped 600 metres from his home at the wheel of his truck. He claimed that he awoke first when stopped by the police and his brother and girlfriend both supported his story that he was prone to sleepwalking.
He was found to have a blood alcohol content of 2.54 promille, far in excess of the Swedish legal limit of 0.2 and enough to be charged with aggravated drink driving which is punishable with up to two years imprisonment.
The man already has two prior convictions for drink driving and was sentenced to two months imprisonment by the district court.
In a separate ruling a truck driver found to have a blood alcohol content level of more than 1.0 promille was acquitted of drink driving charges as he had successfully blown into the alcohol lock on the vehicle.
The man explained that he had taken a break at a rest stop, drank beer and then took a rest with the engine running. In the morning he turned off the engine and blew into the lock.
The alcohol lock however does not work when the engine has recently been turned off, a fact that the man claimed he was unaware of.
The Local/pvs
Comments
See Also
"It can of course be questioned whether it is even possible to be asleep while driving a truck in the circumstances which he claims to have done," the court said in its ruling, but came to the conclusion that it was not beyond reasonable doubt.
The man was stopped 600 metres from his home at the wheel of his truck. He claimed that he awoke first when stopped by the police and his brother and girlfriend both supported his story that he was prone to sleepwalking.
He was found to have a blood alcohol content of 2.54 promille, far in excess of the Swedish legal limit of 0.2 and enough to be charged with aggravated drink driving which is punishable with up to two years imprisonment.
The man already has two prior convictions for drink driving and was sentenced to two months imprisonment by the district court.
In a separate ruling a truck driver found to have a blood alcohol content level of more than 1.0 promille was acquitted of drink driving charges as he had successfully blown into the alcohol lock on the vehicle.
The man explained that he had taken a break at a rest stop, drank beer and then took a rest with the engine running. In the morning he turned off the engine and blew into the lock.
The alcohol lock however does not work when the engine has recently been turned off, a fact that the man claimed he was unaware of.
The Local/pvs
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.