Summary:
Considering that there is no evidence regarding the defendant’s outward behavior during the incident; and that there is no evidence that the defendant lost his ability to drive safely due to alcohol; the decision to convict the defendant instead of acquitting him, without considering that the legal elements of the alleged crime were not met, is deemed incorrect.
Republic of Turkey
Supreme Court
12th Criminal Chamber
Case No: 2013/9401
Decision No: 2014/1935
Date: 29.1.2014
The judgment regarding the defendant’s conviction for endangering traffic safety was appealed by the defendant, and the file was examined and the necessary considerations were made:
Based on the trial conducted, the evidence gathered and presented in the decision, the court’s opinion and discretion formed in accordance with the results of the prosecution, and the scope of the examined file, the defendant’s other appeals, which are deemed unfounded, are rejected, however;
The incident, in which the defendant, whose blood alcohol level was determined to be 64 per mille twenty minutes after the event, crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front of him while driving his vehicle in the same direction, is understood to have occurred because it is known that blood alcohol levels above 100 per mille impair the ability to drive safely, and that the blood alcohol level in the body decreases by 15 per mille with each passing hour; it is understood that the defendant had approximately 69 per mille of alcohol in his blood at the time of the incident; the driver of the vehicle in front, N. B., stated in his statement to the police that he braked suddenly to avoid hitting pedestrians who suddenly appeared in front of him, and that the defendant crashed into the rear of his vehicle during this time; and considering that there is no evidence of the defendant’s outward behavior at the time of the incident, it is understood that there is no evidence that the defendant lost his ability to drive safely due to alcohol. The decision to convict the defendant in writing instead of acquitting him, without considering that the legal elements of the alleged crime were not present, is contrary to the law, and since the defendant’s appeals are deemed justified in this respect, the judgment is hereby REVERSED, contrary to the request, in accordance with Article 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 1412, which is still in force pursuant to Article 8 of Law No. 5320, on January 29, 2014, by unanimous decision.