Berlin – October 28, 2026 -- Seventy-one percent of Germans support an absolute alcohol ban for car drivers, according to the TÜV Mobility Study 2026. The TÜV-Verband is using the result to press for a zero-per-mille limit for all motor vehicles. Forsa surveyed 2,504 people aged 18 and over on the association's behalf between March 19 and April 10, 2026.
Support varies by vehicle type. Approval for a zero limit stands at 74% for motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and mofas, and 67% for e-scooters. For bicycles, a narrow majority of 54% backs zero per mille. Some 49% of respondents want the limit applied to every vehicle type surveyed, while 18% reject a zero limit entirely.
Women and older respondents drive support for a full ban
Of women, 78% back zero per mille for car drivers, against 63% of men. A ban covering all vehicle types is supported by 57% of women and 40% of men. Men (24%) reject a ban outright twice as often as women (12%).
The age gap is wider than the gender gap. Support for a ban across all vehicle types rises from 31% among 18- to 29-year-olds to 47% among 30- to 44-year-olds, 48% among 45- to 59-year-olds and 59% among those aged 60 and over. For car drivers specifically, 78% of respondents aged 60 and over favor zero per mille, compared with 62% of 18- to 29-year-olds.
Low blood alcohol levels already raise crash risk sharply
Awareness of the danger is near-universal: 86% of respondents rate drink-driving as very dangerous and 12% as rather dangerous. Data from the European Road Safety Observatory (ERSO) show that at 0.3 per mille the risk of involvement in a fatal accident is almost double that of a sober driver. At 0.5 per mille, the general accident risk is 1.4 times higher.
TÜV-Verband wants medical-psychological testing from 1.1 per mille
German law generally allows motor vehicle drivers to drive with up to 0.5 per mille. Zero per mille applies only to novice drivers on probation and to drivers under 21. A criminal offense can occur from 0.3 per mille if the driver shows alcohol-related impairment. Drivers are deemed absolutely unfit to drive from 1.1 per mille, cyclists only from 1.6 per mille.
To curb repeat offenses, the TÜV-Verband calls for ordering the Medical-Psychological Assessment (MPU) from 1.1 per mille rather than, as is usual now, from 1.6 per mille. It also recommends lowering the threshold of absolute unfitness for cyclists from 1.6 to 1.1 per mille. The association further wants a separate fine offense for intoxicated cyclists.
Fani Zaneta, the association's specialist for driver licensing, fitness to drive and road safety, said 1.6 per mille amounts to full intoxication. She argued that the leeway the law gives cyclists does not match the risk.