Criminal traffic law

A little carelessness or a risky overtaking maneuver, one too many beers or overlooking a traffic light: situations very often arise in road traffic that cause an accident, which in turn can result in property damage or even personal injury. Since such incidents occur on the road every day, it is not surprising that traffic offenses make up a significant portion of criminal law practice. Caution: Criminal liability can exist even without any accidents or damage.

In contrast to a traffic offense, which is punished with a driver's license suspension, a warning or a fine, an offense under criminal traffic law is sanctioned with a fine or imprisonment. Offenses committed in connection with road traffic can sometimes result in substantial prison sentences. For example, Sections 315b and 315c of the German Criminal Code (StGB) provide for prison sentences of up to five years. The accused of a traffic offense thus faces particularly drastic measures.

The provisions of criminal traffic law are predominantly found in the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB). In particular, the 28th section of the Criminal Code (§§ 306 - 323c StGB), which regulates the common criminal offenses, contains a large number of criminal offenses relevant to traffic law. However, criminal traffic law has not been conclusively regulated by the legislature in the Criminal Code (StGB). Offenses can also be found in secondary legislation, such as the Road Traffic Act (StVG) or the Compulsory Insurance Act (PflVG).

The most relevant criminal offenses in practice are:

• Unauthorized removal from the scene of an accident (§ 142 StGB)
• Bodily injury offenses (cf. §§ 223, 224, 226, 229, 230 StGB), especially negligent bodily injury or negligent homicide in road traffic

.

• Coercion (§ 240 StGB)
• Dangerous interference with road traffic (§315b StGB)
• Danger to road traffic (§ 315c StGB)
• Drunkenness in traffic (§316 StGB)
• Full intoxication (§ 323a StGB)
• Driving without a license (§ 21 StVG)

Threatening consequences - driving ban (§ 44 StGB) and revocation of driving license (§ 69 StGB)

Already the imposed fine or imprisonment may represent a particularly severe evil for the person concerned. In addition, the recognizing court has the option of imposing a driving ban or revoking the driving license. The effects of a driving ban pursuant to Section 44 of the Criminal Code or the revocation of the driving license pursuant to Section 69 of the Criminal Code often only become painfully apparent to the person concerned after the final conviction.

A driving ban (§ 44 StGB) means for the person concerned that the court can prohibit him or her from driving a motor vehicle in road traffic for a period of one month to six months. In this case, the driver's license is only temporarily revoked. After the period of prohibition has elapsed, the driver's license will be issued again ex officio.

A much more drastic measure, on the other hand, is the revocation of the driver's license pursuant to Section 69 of the Criminal Code. If the offense shows that the person concerned is unsuitable to drive a motor vehicle, i.e. represents a danger to other road users, the court can revoke his driving license. The convicted person must first apply to the relevant driving license authority for a new driving license to be issued. However, before a new license can be issued, the offender must wait for a period of disqualification, which can be set by the court for a period of six months to five years (Section 69a of the Criminal Code). Often, the convicted person is also subject to certain conditions that can be imposed on him by the driving license authority. The most well-known requirement is the submission of a positive medical-psychological examination.