Long Leg Hair Leads to Loss of Driving License in Switzerland

Sometimes, people lose their driving licenses for dangerous driving or not stopping for the police. We usually don’t think that parts of our bodies can be used to catch us doing something wrong. This unusual situation happened in the Federal Court in Switzerland. The court decided that a man’s leg hair was long enough to take away his driving license.

Swiss Driving License Revoked Due to Leg Hair

According to a report from Blick, the story began in June 2021 when a man from Solothurn was caught driving drunk. When they tested his breath, emergency services found that he had too much alcohol in his system.

Because of the high alcohol level, the Motor Vehicle Control Department (MFK) thought he might have done this before. They ordered a complete medical check-up, including looking at the person’s hair. The Federal Supreme Court explained that checking a hair sample can show if a person has been drinking too much in the past few months.

Leg Hair Length Sufficient for Use as Evidence

However, one major problem arose: the man was bald. Officials explained that they needed a hair sample that was at least three centimeters long. If they couldn’t find any hair, they couldn’t use this method as proof that he drank too much. Luckily, officers found a solution.

It turned out that the man’s leg hair had grown long enough to be used as proof. The University of Zurich analyzed the sample. The results showed that the man had, on average, been drinking heavily for at least four to eight months before they took the hair.

Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court Opposes Decision for Bald Driver

Perhaps regretting that he hadn’t followed modern male fashion to shave his legs, the man appealed the ruling. The case ended up in the Federal Court in Lausanne. There, a judge decided that the hair was indeed long enough to be used as evidence, no matter where it came from. The judge said, “The results tell us directly about a person’s alcohol drinking during a certain time.”

MFK Revokes Man’s License Citing Unfitness to Drive

Therefore, the MFK took away the man’s driving license forever because he was not fit to drive. He also has to pay 3,000 francs for legal and court costs. Maybe next time, he should have shaved his legs.