Ever reflected concerning leaving out for a night on the city and really turn up the excitement but were worried concerning how you were going to get home? Did you then wonder if you could just ride your bike up the street to the local pub and ride it back down after your night of pleasure? With a bit of luck this expose can respond your questions regarding whether or not you can be accused with driving under the influence (DUI) for riding a cycle intoxicated.

Before I start, though, let me point out that this piece is for informational purposes only. I have not completed a all-inclusive examination of each state’s laws on the topic of this inquiry, so your state’s rules may be distinctive. Before you choose to go out on the city and ride your bike under the influence (or even ride your cycle after drinking), please talk to an lawyer in your neighborhood just to make definite. Also, to end with, the objective of this editorial is not to support people to ride their bikes hammered. Whether or not it is criminal, it is unsafe. The solitary aim of this article is to reply a query many people have.

Let’s set the background here to help out answer our query. Let’s say you are at home at night, in Seattle, Washington, for the purposes of the illustration, and you drink a few drinks while viewing a baseball game during the weekend. At the conclusion of the baseball game, hungry for some Dick’s, you hop on your bicycle and make the nearly 1 mile ride headed for hamburger heaven. While on your way to the eatery, you are pulled over by a officer. The officer remarks that you weren’t riding your bicycle straight, your breath smelled of alcohol, and your eyes were bloodshot (side note - you are guaranteed to spot these physical symptoms almost one hundred percent of the time in law enforcement reports). After observing these signs, the police officer asks if you’d be agreeable to undertake some field sobriety tests. You agree, and act upon marginally (side note once more - in Washington in particular, you should never assent to take field sobriety tests - you have no responsibility to). At that point you are detained on suspicion of drunk driving and taken down to the Seattle police station.

The question now becomes, is riding a mountain bike while inebriated a criminal act? The statute on the topic of driving under the influence, if, in our example, the guy was riding his mountain bike in Seattle, reads, “A person is guilty of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug if the person drives a vehicle within this state…” RCW 46.61.502. Because of this, the questions then become, what is a “vehicle.”

Vehicle is defined in Washington statutes (in keeping with the illustration) as “including every device capable of being moved upon a public highway and in, upon, or by which any persons or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, including cycles. The term does not include power wheelchairs or devices other than bicycles moved by human or animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. Mopeds shall not be considered vehicles or motor vehicles for the purposes of chapter 46.70 RCW. racing bikes shall not be considered vehicles for the purposes of chapter 46.12, 46.16, or 46.70 RCW. Electric personal assistive mobility devices are not considered vehicles or motor vehicles for the purposes of chapter 46.12, 46.16, 46.29, 46.37, or 46.70 RCW.” Chapter 46.12 covers certificates of ownership and registration. Chapter 46.16 covers vehicle licenses, and chapter 46.70 covers dealers and manufacturers” What this denotes is at this instant it seems as though mountain bikes descend into the characterization of vehicles under the DUI statute.

But not so fast. One of the wonderful things about American jurisprudence is that the courts (and your Seattle drunk driving attorney) are capable to make a case not only the clear language of the law, but the intent of the legislature when creating the law. In this case, a examination of the legislative objective, combined with a assessment of additional statutes, demonstrates that mountain bikes were in no way really anticipated to be included in DUI laws. Firstly, on the topic of legislative goal. The legislature altered the classification of vehicle not to encapsulate bikes for intoxicated driving purposes, but to encapsulate cycles in the traffic set of laws and regulations. Before this meaning was altered, bikes were not officially required to stick to the rules of the road. Including bicycles in the definition of vehicles permitted that to take place.

Second, the description for all other drunk driving associated rules appear to incorporate a allusion to motor vehicles and require at least exercising control over a motor vehicle. This further advances the concept that cycles and bicyclists were not anticipated to be covered by DUI statutes. Additionally, the punishment for hammered driving itself doesn’t make sense with someone on a racing bike. The main punishment is suspension of driving privileges - only riding a racing bike doesn’t require a license.

Accordingly, at least in our Seattle, Washington case, if you ride a cycle while hammered, you most likely cannot be convicted of DUI. And this basis seems to apply to most other states as well. However, as I mentioned before, ahead of doing anything, please speak with an qualified Seattle criminal attorney.

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