A drunken cyclist in Leuven has been fined 1,260 euros. It’s an unusually big fine but police explain that the size of the fine depends on the degree of intoxication. The higher the blood alcohol level, the higher the fine, Leuven police say.
Police spotted a 23-year-old young man swerving across the road on his bike in the Naamsestraat early on Sunday. He was ‘pulled over’ and urged to continue on foot, but a little later police saw the fellow back on his bike. He was again stopped and subjected to an alcohol test. The result showed the cyclist was over the limit.
‘In cases of alcohol intoxication, both for motorists and cyclists, the size of the fine is determined by the amount of alcohol per mill in the blood. Between 0.5 and 0.8 per mill, for example, the fine’s fixed at 179 euros. But from 1.2 per mill the fine stands at 1,260 euros,’ explains Mathieu Caudron of Leuven police.
‘Drunken cyclists we usually advise to continue on foot. But if that advice is ignored, we can breathalyse. That is what happened in this case.’
‘In theory, it is possible to revoke a cyclist's licence, but in practice, the vehicle is more likely to be seized when you are drunk and on a bike,’ Officer Caudron noted.