Penalties for Drunk Driving

Penalty for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol | Traffic Legislation | Criminal Lawyer | Attorney Mustafa Yolcu

Penalty for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol under the Turkish Penal Code

Driving under the influence of alcohol constitutes the crime of endangering traffic safety, as defined in Article 179 of the Turkish Penal Code. According to this article, a person who drives with a blood alcohol level exceeding 1.00 per mille is sentenced to imprisonment for one to six years.Turkish Penal Code Article 179/3)

Within the scope of the Highway Traffic Law Penalties for Drunk Driving

For drivers operating vehicles other than private cars under the influence of alcohol, the minimum blood alcohol limit is set at 0.21 per mille.

Drivers whose licenses have been revoked for a second time within five years of the date of the last offense due to driving under the influence of alcohol are required to undergo driver behavior improvement training; those whose licenses have been revoked three or more times are subject to psycho-technical evaluation and examination by a psychiatrist.

Requirements for Obtaining a Driving License

In order for a driver's license to be returned, the individual must have paid all administrative fines imposed under this Law for traffic violations; and those whose driver's licenses were revoked due to drug or stimulant use must also submit a medical board report from an official health institution stating that there is no impediment to them driving.

“The fact that the road is closed to traffic does not prevent the crime from occurring.“

Court of Cassation, 2nd Criminal Chamber, 21.3.2011, 38665/5696.

“According to the circumstances and the file contents, the defendant, while intoxicated on the day of the incident, started a commercial taxi parked at a taxi stand on the street without the owner's knowledge and drove off. While attempting to turn onto Sıtkıpaşa Street, he hit the pedestrian sidewalk, then reversed the steering wheel and continued along the same street towards Yılmaz Akpınar Boulevard. At the scene of the accident, which was closed to traffic and under construction, the vehicle's front bumper and fender struck a pile of asphalt, and then went over it onto a pile of sand further ahead, causing a single-vehicle accident. The doctor's report indicated that the defendant was moderately intoxicated, and the traffic officer's report dated November 15, 2005, stated that he had lost his ability to drive safely due to the effects of alcohol and was unable to control and operate the vehicle safely. Therefore, without considering that the elements of the crime of endangering traffic safety were present, instead of convicting him, the court should have ruled that the danger to traffic safety could not be considered due to the road being closed to traffic, and that the defendant himself was injured in the incident..." "The decision to acquit on the grounds that intent or possible intent could not be established, which is not legally sound" (required reversal).,

“It needs to be scientifically accepted that an alcohol level exceeding 100 per mille will impair the ability to drive safely.“

12th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, 23.2.2012, 12992/5144

“While the mere use of alcohol and drugs is not sufficient for this crime to occur, as consistently emphasized in the reports of the Fifth Specialization Board of the Forensic Medicine Institute; a driver who is driving under the influence of alcohol, regardless of the level of alcohol concentration, may pose varying degrees of risk to traffic safety, although this may differ individually. However, whether this situation is at a dangerous level, and therefore whether the driver has lost the ability to drive safely while driving under the influence of alcohol, can only be determined by evaluating medical data from a detailed internal examination that assesses the individual's current driving capacity, including neurological aspects such as attention, perception, balance, reflexes, psychomotor and neuromotor coordination, ophthalmological aspects such as nystagmus, accommodation, and vision, and general condition. However, even if such an assessment is not made, it is possible to eliminate individual differences in a way that..." It is understood that it should be scientifically accepted that an alcohol level exceeding 100 per mille impairs the ability to drive safely (...); therefore, it should be decided that the defendant, who was found to be driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol level of 104 per mille and who did not have a driver's license, has lost his ability to drive safely and should therefore be convicted of the alleged crime.…”

The 12th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, 19.6.2012, 13412/15345.

In the incident, which occurred when the defendant, while driving his car, collided with cars waiting for the road to be opened due to road repair and construction work, and with a pile of bricks on the right side of the road, it was determined that there was no technical malfunction in the vehicle, no adverse cause originating from the road, or any other factor in the accident; that the defendant claimed to have drunk three bottles of beer before driving and was careless; that the police report stated that the defendant could not blow into the breathalyzer despite 4-5 attempts, could not control his breath, and that his bad breath, speech, movements, and gait indicated that he was intoxicated to the point of being unable to drive; that the doctor's report prepared by the on-duty doctor at Korgan State Hospital determined that the defendant was severely intoxicated and unfit to drive; and that both the drivers whose vehicles were damaged in the accident and the witnesses in the report stated in court that the defendant was heavily intoxicated, had difficulty speaking and walking, had a slurred speech, could barely stand, and walked unsteadily; therefore, it was concluded that the defendant was intoxicated to the point of having lost his ability to drive safely. It is understood that he clearly endangered traffic safety under the influence of alcohol...",

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