[Proof of alcoholic intoxication in automobile driving by breath alcohol content in Austria from the legal viewpoint].

Abstract

In Austria, automobile drivers are obligated to undergo a breathalizer test if they are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. Drivers cannot be forced to take the test, but if they refuse, their conduct is then dealt with as a violation of civil law and is therefore punishable by law. If the Alcomat test yields an alcohol content of 0.4 ml/l, i.e. relevant amount, the suspect then has the right to demand that a blood test be carried out. If the authorities refuse to give him this test, then the suspect will not be held to have been in excess of the legal alcohol level by the civil authorities in the following proceedings. On the other hand, in a legal criminal proceeding, the suspect will then be found guilty of exceeding the legal alcohol level, if additional evidence--which must be examined by the judge within the framework of the free consideration of evidence (a principle recognized by Austrian law but not, for example, by American law)--suffices to show with relative certainty that the suspect exceeded the alcohol limit as defined in section 81 Z2StGB). If a blood test is completed and the results differ from those of the breathalizer, then the blood test results are used.