Endangering Traffic Safety – Alcohol Level In The Defendant Supreme Court Decision
Summary:
Considering that there is no finding regarding the defendant’s outward behavior during the incident; it is understood that there is no evidence that the defendant lost his ability to drive safely due to alcohol; without considering that the legal elements of the alleged crime have not been established, the decision to convict the defendant in writing instead of acquitting him is incorrect.
Republic of Turkey
Court of Cassation
12th Criminal Chamber
Case No.: 2013/9401
Decision No.: 2014/1935
Date: 29.1.2014
The defendant appealed the conviction for endangering traffic safety, and the case file was reviewed and considered:
Based on the trial, the evidence gathered and presented in the decision, the court’s opinion and judgment in accordance with the results of the investigation, and the scope of the case file reviewed, the defendant’s other appeals, which were not found to be valid, were rejected, however;
In the incident, where the defendant, who was found to have a blood alcohol level of 64 promille in a test conducted twenty minutes after the incident, crashed into the vehicle in front of him while driving his vehicle, it is known that a blood alcohol level above 100 promille impairs the ability to drive safely, and given that the alcohol level in the body decreases by 15 promille every hour, the defendant had approximately 69 promille alcohol in his blood at the time of the incident. The driver of the vehicle in front, N.. B.., stated in his statement to the police that he braked suddenly to avoid hitting pedestrians who suddenly appeared in front of him, and that the defendant’s vehicle collided with his from behind at that moment. Considering that there is no evidence regarding the defendant’s outward behavior at the time of the incident, it is understood that there is no evidence that the defendant lost his ability to drive safely due to alcohol. Therefore, the defendant’s conviction, instead of his acquittal, without considering that the legal elements of the alleged crime have not been established,
is contrary to the law, and the defendant’s appeals are therefore deemed valid. For this reason, the ruling is REVERSED in accordance with Article 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 1412, which is currently in force pursuant to Article 8 of Law No. 5320, contrary to the request. It was unanimously decided on January 29, 2014.