We've all heard of people being charged with DUI on lawn mower, or an ATV and I even know a guy that was charged once for riding a horse drunk. My question - is it really worthy of a DUI violation if a guy is riding a bike? A Public intoxication charge, maybe if he was being obnoxious, but DUI? It seems like a waste of resources to me. What are they going to take away from him, his pedals? http://www.wtsbradio.com/ "A Smithfield man was arrested for operating a bicycle under the influence on Saturday. Officers said they observed a bicycle being peddled down South Fifth Street by a man who was very unsteady and also carrying a chainsaw. Police stopped the bicyclist and charged the operator, identified as 50 year-old Michael Dennis Moore of North Street, with driving while impaired. Moore was wanted at the time of his arrest for failing to appear in court last month to answer to a charge of carrying a concealed weapon."
I saw that earlier and wondered the same thing. Public intoxication........sure but DUI?? As for the horse rider DUI thing before too, acutally witnessed it once, LOL. I kinda disagree with that one too. :jester:
I would guess it is more about the harm they could do to others by reckless operation of the bike, horse, atv, etc. I agree with them giving a DUI citation if they are riding the bike on the road where they could swerve into traffic and cause an accident. Public intoxication and operating a potentially dangerous apparatus are definitely different.
I guess it works like this...bicyclists are given rights of way on public thoroughfares just like a motor vehicle. In other words, a cyclist has just as much right to the road as does a car. However, the trade-off is that a cyclist must also adhere to the same laws. When riding a bicycle on a public street, he or she must stop for stop signs, yield when appropriate, give signals, stop for traffic lights and stay sober. Smithfield police stopped a hispanic man for DWI on a bicycle just a couple of months ago, so perhaps they are a bit tighter on bicyclists. Yet, I must say that I think a drunk person on a bicycle is dangerous to himself as well as other since he could cause a major accident if a driver were to hit another vehicle trying to avoid the cyclist. Honestly, I don't always signal nor do complete stops in my neighborhood. However, the lawman can give a $100fine for running a stop sign to a cyclist just like a driver of a car!
I get that it's the law, I guess just dont really understand why. When someone gets a DUI, what happens? They lose their license for a year and their insurance goes up. Neither of those applies to a bicycle which may very well be his only mode of transportation. So what do they do to him? He was also carrying a chainsaw, show me your statute governing riding a bike with a chainsaw while drunk!!! :lol:
About 25 years ago I lived in Monticello, GA (featured in My Cousin Vinny) and we had a gentleman arrested for drunking driving and they had his bicycle chained to the handrail in front of the Police Department. He was riding his bike on the street in the public square, endangering himself and risking property damage for everyone else.
I guess I could buy DUI on a lawnmower, tractor, bicycle etc., but DUI on a horse? It's been my experience that horses generally have a better sense of self-preservation than humans!
The one I saw, the guy rode the horse to the convenience store and bought more beer, LOL. But he was riding the horse on a public road, so while I can see the DUI charge to a point................the horse was driving, not the man!:jester:
The bicycle community probably wanted the same right to the road as automobiles so that was the tradeoff. Can't touch that one.
http://web.me.com/wilson4689/ycgazette/News.html Dundee man gets DWI on ATV 5/10/2011 - NY State Police (Dundee) report that Kenneth M. Rumsey, 39 of Dundee was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated, Reckless Driving and Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer 3rd following a brief pursuit in the Town of Starkey. Rumsey was operating an All Terrain Vehicle on the roadway and failed to stop when Troopers attempted to stop him. Rumsey lost control of the vehicle and was ejected, then declined medical attention. He was arraigned in the Town of Starkey Court and remanded to the Yates County Jail in lieu of $500 cash bail or $1,000 property bond.
