German man drives 15 meters in Switzerland and ends up in federal court

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• A German man only drove 15 meters in Romanshorn before he was stopped, despite being banned from driving.
• The Thurgau authorities extended the ban by six months.
• The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the decision; the minimum duration also applies in minor cases.

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By driving 15 meters despite having his German driver's license revoked for one month, a German driver has been banned from driving for a further six months. The appeal to the Federal Supreme Court does not change the decision of the Thurgau judiciary.

Actually, the complainant should not even have been allowed to turn the ignition key of a car for the entire month of February in 2023 due to a moderately serious violation of the Road Traffic Act.

Nevertheless, he got into the driver's seat in the harbor area of Romanshorn TG after his partner had driven him there from Amriswil. The German wanted to steer the car onto the ferry about 150 meters away, but after a maximum of 15 meters he was stopped by a border guard. And the Thurgau Road Traffic Office subsequently decided that the man should not drive for a further six months for breaking the law.

Missed deadline

The Thurgau Administrative Court did not hear the man's appeal because he did not pay the advance on costs within the deadline. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court published on Friday.

The Federal Supreme Court left open the question of whether the letter with the request for an extension of the deadline was submitted on time. Either way, the man's appeal should be dismissed - even if he had complied with all deadlines.

Switzerland's highest court examined the substantive reasoning of the lower court, which it retained in its decision despite the decision not to intervene. And it comes to the conclusion that the minimum duration of six months for the withdrawal of a driving license cannot be undercut - even in particularly minor cases of driving a motor vehicle despite the withdrawal of a license. (Judgment 1C_721/2024 of 5.8.2025)