Driver's license gone

Painful struggle for “appearance”

Drug driver or pain patient? In a traffic stop, the driver's impairment is a decisive factor. Unfortunately, the assessment is subjective and often ambiguous.

(Bild: Image Flow – Stock.adobe.com, sos, Krone KREATIV)

A prescribed medication cost a patient from Lower Austria his driver's license. During a traffic check, he was classified as a drug driver. The previously blameless 37-year-old is now fighting for a "fairer system" and is asking for help to stand his ground before the Constitutional Court.

A traffic stop in July 2022 changed everything for Nikolaus W., a previously blameless master mechanic from the district of Mödling. The 37-year-old has been struggling with severe back pain for 15 years - several herniated discs have been diagnosed.