Norwegian fined $8,000 (P447,000) for driving E-scooter while drunk
A Norwegian court has fined a 40-year-old woman more than $,8000 (P447,000) for driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol.
She was caught weaving down a deserted street late one June night in the centre of the south-western city of Stavanger and arrested.
The human resources worker was found to have 1.4 grams of alcohol in her blood, way over the local limit of 0.5 grams per liter.
Courts in Norway, where E-scooters fall in the same category as other motorised vehicles, usually jail drunken drivers and set fines at one and a half times the defendant's monthly salary.
The court at Sandnes, just south of Stavanger, showed leniency with the 80,000-kroner fine, after the prosecution called for a 93,000 kroner (P530,000+) penalty, and also suspended a two-week jail sentence.
"The court stresses that the defendant drove only for a few minutes and that there were no other vehicles or pedestrians in the area," the verdict said Tuesday (Aug. 23)
"There is no evidence that it was a dangerous situation," the judge added noting the woman admitted her guilt and that an electric scooter can cause less damage than a car or a motorbike.
The woman will have to pass another driving test after an 18-month suspension. (AFP)
