A bald drink driver who appealed his ban when police scientists used hairs from his leg and not his head to test his boozing has had his case thrown out by judges in Switzerland.
The driver, from Solothurn Canton, had failed a roadside breath test and was ordered to have his hair analysed to see if he had been consuming drink or drugs over a long period of time.
Under Swiss law, habitual abusers whose hair tests reveal long-term abuse receive lengthier driving bans.
But police scientists, reports local media, were unable to harvest enough hair from his head and instead took follicles from his leg.
The driver was convinced it was a breach of procedure and filed a complaint at the Administrative Court of Solothurn.
And when they turned him down, the stubborn driver appealed all the way up to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in Lausanne.
But the judges again threw out his case, saying leg hair was an acceptable substitute, local media reported on 6th December.
Although scalp hair is preferred, they said, hair from the chest, legs or even a beard is legal.
To add insult to injury, the driver was also ordered to pay the court’s costs of CHF 3,000 (GBP 2,730).
The case – which has been running for more than two years – began in June 2021 when the driver’s alcohol level was revealed to be 0.82 milligrammes per litre or 1.6 per mille.
Switzerland has some of the toughest drink-driving laws in the world, including the fact that anyone found with an alcohol level of 0.5 per mile is banned from driving.
