Facts
The case concerns a driver, X., who was involved in a drunk driving incident on July 27, 1999. The Strassenverkehrsamt of the canton of Zurich withdrew his driving license for a period of four months. X. contested this decision before the Regierungsrat and the Verwaltungsgericht of the canton of Zurich, which rejected his appeals. He then appealed to the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the Verwaltungsgericht's decision and the referral of the case for a new assessment.
The facts of the case are as follows: X. consumed an unspecified amount of alcohol in different locations in Zurich, then drove his vehicle to an intersection, where he fell asleep at the wheel. The passengers of a taxi woke him up and noticed his state of intoxication. X. then drove his vehicle erratically, crossing the road and the sidewalk.
The Strassenverkehrsamt withdrew X.'s driving license for a period of four months, considering in particular that he had already been deprived of his license for a period of one month in 1994 for refusing to undergo a breathalyzer test.
Considerations
The Federal Court rejected X.'s appeal, considering that the withdrawal of a driving license with limited effect to leisure activities is not compatible with the educational purpose of this measure and with traffic safety. The Court estimated that the faulty driver must be temporarily excluded from driving vehicles for a determined period, and not only during leisure hours.
The Court also examined the criteria for setting the duration of the driving license withdrawal, which include the severity of the fault, the driver's behavior, and the professional need to drive a vehicle. It considered that the four-month period set by the…