PUI?

Anyone here ever been ticketed for Pedaling Under the Influence?

(Not really a tech question, more of a soc question, admittedly.)

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon

Mike Rocket J Squirrel wrote:

Anyone here ever been ticketed for Pedaling Under the Influence?

(Not really a tech question, more of a soc question, admittedly.)

It's never happened to me, nor anyone I know personally. I think most
cops are not so dense as not to see that pinching cyclists for riding
drunk is encouraging them to take the car even when they know they'll
be drinking. In many places, there is no explicit legal reason that a
cop couldn't do so, though.

In Washington State, there is a very sane law regarding drunk cyclists
that all states would do well to emulate. A cop can offer you a ride
if you appear to be intoxicated, but you don't have to accept it. If
you are drunk/high enough to constitute a threat to public safety,
police can impound your bike, but they can't charge you a fee to
reclaim it:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.61.790

---------------------------------

RCW 46.61.790
Intoxicated bicyclists.

(1) A law enforcement officer may offer to transport a bicycle rider
who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or any drug and who
is walking or moving along or within the right-of-way of a public
roadway, unless the bicycle rider is to be taken into protective
custody under RCW 70.96A.120. The law enforcement officer offering to
transport an intoxicated bicycle rider under this section shall:

(a) Transport the intoxicated bicycle rider to a safe place; or

(b) Release the intoxicated bicycle rider to a competent person.

(2) The law enforcement officer shall not provide the assistance
offered if the bicycle rider refuses to accept it. No suit or action
may be commenced or prosecuted against the law enforcement officer,
law enforcement agency, the state of Washington, or any political
subdivision of the state for any act resulting from the refusal of the
bicycle rider to accept this assistance.

(3) The law enforcement officer may impound the bicycle operated
by an intoxicated bicycle rider if the officer determines that
impoundment is necessary to reduce a threat to public safety, and
there are no reasonable alternatives to impoundment. The bicyclist
will be given a written notice of when and where the impounded bicycle
may be reclaimed. The bicycle may be reclaimed by the bicycle rider
when the bicycle rider no longer appears to be intoxicated, or by an
individual who can establish ownership of the bicycle. The bicycle
must be returned without payment of a fee. If the bicycle is not
reclaimed within thirty days, it will be subject to sale or disposal
consistent with agency procedures.

[2000 c 85 § 4.]

--------------------------------------

Chalo

TRY: " OPEN CONTAINER"

"datakoll" wrote: TRY: " OPEN CONTAINER"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Or: Drunk in public.

On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:59:04 -0800, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:

Anyone here ever been ticketed for Pedaling Under the Influence?

(Not really a tech question, more of a soc question, admittedly.)


YES....a friend of mine was stopped, ticketed, and taken to jail for
this.....called it DUI actually. However, the judge simply laughed it
out of court. Still...it cost him a weekend in jail and the
embarrassment of it. Try explaining THAT to friends and those
friends can't keep a straight face!!!!!

__o | Every time I see an adult on a bicycle....
_`\(,_ | I no longer despair for the human race.
(_)/ (_) | ---H.G. Wells---

On Nov 21, 12:59*pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
Anyone here ever been ticketed for Pedaling Under the Influence?

(Not really a tech question, more of a soc question, admittedly.)

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon

I know a guy that drove his car to an event, with his bike on top. Got
gooned up, took is bike off the car to ride home and NOT DUI and got
busted by the cops, who were standing at the entrance waiting for
somebody to get into their car.

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

I know a guy that drove his car to an event, with his bike on top. Got
gooned up, took is bike off the car to ride home and NOT DUI and got
busted by the cops, who were standing at the entrance waiting for
somebody to get into their car.

Talk about missing the point.

I guess the authorities go out of their way to hire enforcers of
average or lower intelligence, though.

Chalo

On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:21:05 -0500, Harry Brogan wrote:

On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:59:04 -0800, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:

Anyone here ever been ticketed for Pedaling Under the Influence?

(Not really a tech question, more of a soc question, admittedly.)


YES....a friend of mine was stopped, ticketed, and taken to jail for
this.....called it DUI actually. However, the judge simply laughed it
out of court. Still...it cost him a weekend in jail and the
embarrassment of it. Try explaining THAT to friends and those friends
can't keep a straight face!!!!!


This would depend on how the statutes are drafted in your state. In my
state, for instance, the DUI statue is limited to "motor vehicles."
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-266 (2007), which are defined, for the purposes of
the DUI statute, as including "mopeds, while operated on the public
highways."

That would seem to exclude bicycles, even if bicycles are considered
vehicles while operated on a roadway. Va. Code. Ann. § 46.2-100 (2007).
The specific language in the DUI statute limiting the statute to "motor
vehicles" would seem to indicate an intent on the part of the legislature
to exclude bicycles--if they had wanted to be so inclusive, they would
have simply said "vehicles." To read the statute otherwise would render
both the phrase "motor vehicles" and the phrase defining "motor vehicles"
as including "mopeds" meaningless.

I'm guessing that your home state's DUI statute is similarly limited.
The judge acquitted your friend on the basis that the state could not
possibly prove a necessary element of the offense--that the defendant was
operating a MOTOR vehicle.

The irony here, of course, is that the police officer was relying on a
broad definition of "vehicle" that includes bicycles. That's something
we seldom see in application.

It bears repeating: if your state DUI statute says "vehicle," then it's
at least possible to get issued a DUI citation when operating a bicycle.
But if the statute is limited, then the question is at least arguable.

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed attorney. My opinion here is academic,
and should not be relied upon as legal advice; nor should it be
construed as offering to provide legal advice or enter into any attorney-
client relationship. If you have real legal questions--consult a real
lawyer.

--Luigi
--
Luigi de Guzman
http://ouij.livejournal.com

On Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:55:33 -0800, Chalo wrote:

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

I know a guy that drove his car to an event, with his bike on top. Got
gooned up, took is bike off the car to ride home and NOT DUI and got
busted by the cops, who were standing at the entrance waiting for
somebody to get into their car.

Talk about missing the point.

I guess the authorities go out of their way to hire enforcers of average
or lower intelligence, though.

Chalo

This is why you should get to know your friendly, neighborhood attorney.

--L



--
Luigi de Guzman
http://ouij.livejournal.com

On Nov 21, 11:59*am, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
Anyone here ever been ticketed for Pedaling Under the Influence?

(Not really a tech question, more of a soc question, admittedly.)

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon

My DA friends in PDX prosecute these on an infrequent basis. It
clearly is drunk driving in Oregon. I was also told that it is
sometimes used as a pretext stop -- some little thug on a BMX bike is
suspected of wrongdoing and gets pulled over for PUI. -- Jay Beattie.