On 20 February 2010, Käßmann was pulled over for driving through a red light on the streets of Hanover. It was determined through a blood test that her blood alcohol level was at 1.54 per mil. (The legal limit is 0.3 per mil in Germany.) Her license was immediately confiscated. She could face the loss of her driver's license for one year and pay a fine of one month's salary. Despite receiving a vote of confidence from the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, she stepped down from her office as leader of the Evangelical Church and as bishop on 24 February 2010.