"Militiamen" are allowed to drink again

People from rescue and civil protection organizations are subject to the alcohol ban on all missions with heavy motor vehicles for the transport of goods. The regulation has led to problems in practice for militia fire departments, according to the Federal Council. With the new regulation that has now been adopted, the normal alcohol limit of 0.25 mg/l or 0.50 per mille will once again apply to "militia firefighters" who are called out on urgent missions as of January 1, 2017. The alcohol ban also does not apply to people who are called out on urgent missions by professional firefighting organizations, even though they are neither on duty nor on standby. This change is necessary because rescue and disaster control organizations are increasingly dependent on calling up people who are not on duty or on standby. It is possible that these people, who are not expected to be on duty, may have an alcohol concentration of more than 0.05 mg/l or 0.10 per mille at the time of the call (limit value of the "alcohol ban"). The decision of the Federal Council takes into account the need for the best possible recruitment in unforeseen rescue missions, as it writes.

Other exceptions to the ban on alcohol

Drivers of heavy goods transport vehicles with low maximum speeds (up to 45 km/h) as well as trucks that are equivalent to work motor vehicles will also be exempt from the alcohol ban in the future, it is further announced. These exceptions are justified because the use of slower vehicles generally poses a much smaller risk potential. Another change, according to the Federal Council's statement, concerns the method of calculating insurance premiums. This will also come into force on January 1, 2017.