BERLIN (Reuters) - German police arrested a man for drunk driving after he mistook a police spot check for a breakdown and stopped to help.

Officers inspecting a car by the roadside suspected the 37-year-old passing motorist was under the influence of alcohol when he lurched from his vehicle to offer assistance, police in the northwestern town of Bremen said Friday.

"Obviously his optical assessment of the situation as he drove past was that this was a vehicle breakdown," the police said in a statement.

The man was arrested and banned from driving.

To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.

- Voltaire