Two Norwegians fined for using e-scooters drunk
A Norwegian court has fined a 40-year-old woman 80,000 kroner, and a man in his 40s 88,000 kroner for using e-scooters while over the legal blood alcohol limit in separate incidents.
She was caught weaving down a deserted street late one June night in the centre of the south-western city of Stavanger and arrested.
The human resources worker was found to have 1.4 grams of alcohol in her blood, way over the local limit of 0.5 grams per litre.
Courts in Norway, where e-scooters fall in the same category as other motorised vehicles, usually jail drunken drivers and set fines at one and a half times the defendant's monthly salary.
The court at Sandnes, just south of Stavanger, showed leniency with the 80,000-kroner fine, after the prosecution called for a 93,000 kroner penalty, and also suspended a two-week jail sentence.
"The court stresses that the defendant drove only for a few minutes and that there were no other vehicles or pedestrians in the area," Tuesday's verdict said.
"There is no evidence that it was a dangerous situation," the judge added noting the woman admitted her guilt and that an electric scooter can cause less damage than a car or a motorbike.
The woman will have to pass another driving test after an 18-month suspension.
A man in his 40s has also been convicted in Sør-Rogaland District Court for driving an electric scooter while intoxicated. The incident happened two days after new rules were introduced.
According to the verdict, the man had a blood alcohol level of 1.3 half an hour after driving. He was sentenced to 18 days' conditional imprisonment, as well as paying a fine of NOK 88,000 - one and a half times the man's gross monthly income.
READ MORE: What are the new Norwegian traffic rules for e-scooters?
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She was caught weaving down a deserted street late one June night in the centre of the south-western city of Stavanger and arrested.
The human resources worker was found to have 1.4 grams of alcohol in her blood, way over the local limit of 0.5 grams per litre.
Courts in Norway, where e-scooters fall in the same category as other motorised vehicles, usually jail drunken drivers and set fines at one and a half times the defendant's monthly salary.
The court at Sandnes, just south of Stavanger, showed leniency with the 80,000-kroner fine, after the prosecution called for a 93,000 kroner penalty, and also suspended a two-week jail sentence.
"The court stresses that the defendant drove only for a few minutes and that there were no other vehicles or pedestrians in the area," Tuesday's verdict said.
"There is no evidence that it was a dangerous situation," the judge added noting the woman admitted her guilt and that an electric scooter can cause less damage than a car or a motorbike.
The woman will have to pass another driving test after an 18-month suspension.
A man in his 40s has also been convicted in Sør-Rogaland District Court for driving an electric scooter while intoxicated. The incident happened two days after new rules were introduced.
According to the verdict, the man had a blood alcohol level of 1.3 half an hour after driving. He was sentenced to 18 days' conditional imprisonment, as well as paying a fine of NOK 88,000 - one and a half times the man's gross monthly income.
READ MORE: What are the new Norwegian traffic rules for e-scooters?
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