Have you been involved in a traffic accident, have you been arrested by the police for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs or are you driving without a (valid) driving licence? These are all violations of the Dutch so-called Wegenverkeerswet and the Dutch s0o-called Regeling verkeersvoorschriften. The Wegenverkeerswet regulates, among other things, the penalisation of a number of traffic offences, including leaving the scene of the accident. Our criminal law specialists at Berte Advocaten will guide you through the maze of regulations concerning traffic offences and will be happy to assist you if you are a suspect of a traffic offence. Feel free to contact one of our attorneys to discuss your situation.

Tip: If the police want to interrogate you, make sure you have spoken to an attorney first. The Wegenverkeerswet, for example, distinguishes in the penalisation between different levels of guilt. For example, under the Wegenverkeerswet you can be held criminally liable for a traffic accident if it is your fault, but your penalty will be much higher if you drove recklessly. Your statement at the police station can be an important factor in determining if you drove recklessly or not. Unfortunately, once a statement has been made, the statement will be part of the case file.

Did the government take your driving licence away?

Did you drive too fast? Did you drive under influence of alcohol? Did you drive under influence of drugs? Did you drive aggressively or did you cause an accident? A driving licence can be pulled by the police if you have violated (certain) traffic rules, but the police has to follow certain rules. The attorneys at Berte Advocaten can check for you whether the police did acts in accordance with the law.

In principle, a driving licence may only be pulled if you are arrested. If the police did stop you and did pull your driving licence immediately, you are not allowed to continue driving.  You will have to leave the car (or other motorised vehicle) at the spot you where stopped. Sometimes - in serious cases - the vehicle will be confiscated. The agent in question will send his official report and your driving licence to the prosecutor of the CVOM (in Dutch Centrale Verwerkring Openbaar Ministerie). The prosecutor must decide within 10 days what to do with your driving licence. There are actually two options. Your driving licence will be returned (option 1) or your driving licence will be taken away for a longer period of time (option 2).

Als uw rijbewijs is ingenomen neem dan meteen contact op met een gespecialiseerde strafrecht advocaat van Berte Advocaten die kan een gemotiveerd verzoek om teruggave van uw rijbewijs indienen bij de officier van justitie. Bij first offenders en mensen die hun rijbewijs hard nodig hebben voor hun werk of privé slaagt dit vaak.

If your driving licence is not returned to you (quickly), we can file a complaint on your behalf. These cases are scheduled as a matter of urgency and the hearing usually takes place 2 to 4 weeks later. The judge will then take a provisional decision. The final decision on the duration of the suspension from driving is taken by the judge who also decides what punishment is appropriate.