Facts
On February 7, 1999 at 7:30 pm, X. was driving on the overtaking lane of the city highway from St. Gallen towards St. Margrethen. The road was covered with snow slush, but the visibility was good thanks to artificial lighting. During an overtaking maneuver, X. noticed two police vehicles with flashing warning lights on the emergency lane, securing an accident site. He braked immediately, causing the wheels to lock and the vehicle to skid. The car slid onto the emergency lane, collided with the rear of a police vehicle, and finally came to a stop on the regular lane. X. sustained moderate injuries.
The St. Gallen investigating magistrate's office convicted X. of violating traffic regulations and imposed a fine. The Roads and Waterways Office of the Canton of St. Gallen then revoked X.'s driving license for a period of one month. X. appealed this decision, which was rejected by the Administrative Appeals Commission of the Canton of St. Gallen.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds X.'s complaint. It finds that X. had adapted his driving speed to the winter road conditions and was only driving at 60-70 km/h instead of the permitted 100 km/h. While X. misjudged the situation with the police vehicles on the side of the road and braked too hard instinctively, causing the vehicle to skid, this can be attributed to him at most as a minor fault given the specific circumstances.
The Federal Supreme Court considers the revocation of the driving license in…