Drunk Oktoberfest e-scooter mayhem causes hundreds to lose driving licenses

Police in Germany say driving licenses have been suspended for hundreds of people who used electric scooters while drunk at the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich.

Some 414 people were arrested for driving e-scooters while betrunken. Of this total, 254 drunken e-scooting Oktoberfest maniacs received a suspended license penalty, the police said Monday.

In 32 of these cases, police patrols intervened to prevent drunk driving, reports CNN:

In Germany, e-scooters, which were only legalized in June, are categorized as motorized vehicles. This means that drink-driving laws apply to riders -- as some found out the hard way during the world's largest beer festival.

Police identified e-scooters as a new challenge during the 16-day Oktoberfest -- an annual festival of traditional German food, dancing, beer and clothing that ran from September 19 to October 4 -- working to keep the festival grounds clear of the vehicles.

Read more: Hundreds lose their driving licenses during Oktoberfest e-scooter mayhem [CNN, Jack Guy and Stephanie Halasz, 7th October 2019] Read the rest