Facts
The appellant, an exhibition stand builder, has held a category B driver's license since 1990. On March 23, 2011, his driver's license was withdrawn for three months due to a serious offense (fatigue, traffic accident). On November 1, 2012, the appellant was driving a passenger car with a goods trailer on the A1 highway when he was stopped by a police patrol. A weight check revealed that the trailer load was exceeded by 132 kg or 132% and the support load by 152 kg or 190%. The appellant was fined CHF 500.-- for exceeding the permissible trailer, support, and towing load, as well as overloading the goods trailer. The Road Traffic Office of the Canton of Aargau withdrew the appellant's driver's license for 12 months due to a serious offense. The appellant appealed this decision to the Federal Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the lower court had rightly considered the appellant's behavior to be a serious offense within the meaning of Art. 16c para. 1 lit. a RTA. The appellant argued that the District Court of Winterthur had fined him CHF 500.--, which constituted a misdemeanor and thus indicated relatively minor culpability. However, the Federal Court decided that the administrative authority is not bound by the penal order in its legal assessment of the facts.
The Federal Court found that the lower court had rightly assumed a serious offense, as the objective danger and the appellant's culpability were qualified. The exceeding of the permissible support and trailer load by 190% and 132%, respectively, was massive and posed a serious risk to traffic safety. The appellant had…