Facts
On February 14, 1989, [N.] was driving his truck on the N 2 towards the south in Göschenen. During a police inspection before the Gotthard Road Tunnel, it was determined that he had loaded five canisters of "Acetic Acid 98/100%" (net weight 150 kg) of ADR Class 8 No. 32b. Substances of this ADR class may only be transported through the Gotthard Road Tunnel in quantities of less than 10 kg per transport unit.
The District Court of Uri found [N.] guilty of violating Art. 23 para. 1 ADR as well as Art. 27 para. 1 RTA and Art. 19 para. 1 lit. g RDO, and fined him CHF 1,500 in application of Art. 90 No. 2 RTA. The High Court of the Canton of Uri upheld this judgment on December 4, 1991.
[N.] filed a federal nullity appeal with the Federal Supreme Court, requesting that the judgment of the High Court be set aside and the case be remanded for a new decision.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It considered the objective requirements of Art. 90 No. 2 RTA to be fulfilled, as [N.] had exceeded the maximum permissible quantity of dangerous goods by fifteen times with the transport of 150 kg of acetic acid, thereby committing a serious violation of the ADR regulations. With such a quantity, there was also a high abstract risk to other road users, as there is oncoming traffic in the Gotthard Road Tunnel and several thousand people could be present.
The Federal Supreme Court also considered the…