Alcohol intoxication VS drunkenness
The penalties for drunk driving depend on which offence you have committed. In traffic law, there are two possible offences that can come into play, each of which is punished separately. These are alcohol intoxication and drunkenness.
Alcohol intoxication is about exceeding the legally permissible limit of alcohol content. Because you exceed a certain percentage, you are automatically punishable. Punishable alcohol intoxication is simply measurable and objectively ascertainable.
Drunkenness is about an actual state, regardless of whether you have exceeded the legal limit of alcohol. Drunkenness means that you are so under the influence of alcohol that you are no longer in control of your actions. Drunkenness is inferred from a confluence of factual circumstances, the so-called external characteristics of intoxication. Drunkenness is thus more subjective.
Drunkenness and alcohol intoxication do not necessarily have to go together. One is possible without the other. You may be drunk but not have exceeded the legally permissible limit, or vice versa.
Penalties for criminal alcohol intoxication
The punishment of criminal alcohol intoxication depends on the measured alcohol content in blood or exhaled air. You exceed the legal limit at a minimum of 0.5 promille or 0.22 mg/l UAL (exhaled alveolar air).
If the alcohol content is between 0.22 and 0.50 mg/l UAL, the police may propose immediate collection:
- Alcohol content between 0.22 and 0.35 mg/l UAL: immediate collection of 179 EUR.
- Alcohol content between 0.35 and 0.44 mg/l UAL: immediate collection of 420 EUR.
- Alcohol content between 0.44 and 0.50 mg/l UAL: immediate collection of 578 EUR.
In case of non-payment of the immediate collection, the public prosecutor may propose an out-of-court settlement. If you do not pay this either, you will have to appear before the police court, where you risk a fine and the forfeiture of the right to drive (driving ban).
If you exceed the limit of 0.50 mg/l UAL, an immediate collection or amicable settlement is no longer possible if you are domiciled or permanently resident in Belgium. You will then immediately be summoned before the police court.
If you are not domiciled or permanently resident in Belgium, an immediate collection is possible again:
- Alcohol content between 0.50 and 0.65 mg/l UAL: immediate collection of 1260 EUR.
- Alcohol content of at least 0.65 mg/l UAL: in this case, you must pay 1260 EUR in consignment for any fine and court costs that will follow.
In addition, for any criminal alcohol intoxication, you will also risk an immediate driving ban for the following hours or an immediate revocation of your driving licence. How long the driving ban lasts depends on the alcohol limit you exceeded. The immediate licence revocation is usually 15 days.
The penalties for drunkenness?
Article 35 of the Road Traffic Act states the following:
‘With a fine of 200 euros to 2 000 euros and with the forfeiture of the right to drive a motor vehicle for a duration of at least one month and up to five years or for life, he who drives a vehicle or a riding animal in a public place or accompanies a driver for the purpose of schooling while in a state of intoxication or in a similar state in particular as a result of the use of drugs or medicines shall be punished.’
An immediate collection is not possible for drunk driving. However, similar to alcohol intoxication, a temporary immediate revocation of your driving licence is possible. In addition, you will always be summoned. If you have to appear before the police court, you risk a fine of between 200 and 2,000 EUR. These amounts have to be increased with surcharges (x8), bringing them to between 1,600 and 16,000 EUR. In addition, the police judge will also impose a driving ban on you of at least one month and up to five years, or in the worst case, for life.
Moreover, it is also possible for the judge to impose an alcohol lock if he does not impose a lifetime driving ban. The alcohol lock is also a possible punishment in cases of alcohol intoxication. It can be for a period of at least one year and up to three years or for life. This means that the validity of the offender's driving licence is limited to all motor vehicles fitted with an alcohol lock.
Were you summoned for criminal alcohol intoxication or drunkenness?
If so, be sure to contact the lawyers at Wanted Law!