e-bike dwi

[fatbike rider]

i know this topic has been around for a while but my friend just got a dwi on his e bike we are in rochester ny . its a very long sorry ill give you the jist of it .

he was over at my how had a a few to many so he unplugged his batteries and left pedaling his bike got couple hundred feet down the road and his front hub broke and crashed. a the neighbor found him and called ems cops came and arrested him for a dwi because it has a motor on it. they don't care the the motor was not functional

 

[footloose]

FWIW, I have a friend who got a dwi on a pure pedal bike.
Kind of same story... got lit, wrecked bike, got ticketed.
And think I've heard of boaters getting iicketed for dwi.
Exact charge may differ but point is same -- society trying to protect itself from the poor judgment that results from one too many.
I'm not preaching, got no leg to stand on for that, just saying.

 

[fatbike rider]

there was another guy on the other side of the city last week he got one on a gas powered bike that was out of gas and he was peddling to. i find it a little ridiculous that cop are messing with people like this they are bicycles they weigh all of 50lb if that, its not like you can kill someone or even severely injure them even at a good speed . i don't know how many time i wiped out as a kid i have even run it in other people on there bike hauling ASS and every one walked away just fine

 

[Chalo]

Exact charge may differ but point is same -- society trying to protect itself from the poor judgment that results from one too many.

Problem with that frankly stupid attitude is that the real failure of judgment illustrating callous indifference to the welfare of others is not having too much to drink, but driving a car at all. Drunk or sober.

 

[footloose]

Exact charge may differ but point is same -- society trying to protect itself from the poor judgment that results from one too many.

Problem with that frankly stupid attitude is that the real failure of judgment illustrating callous indifference to the welfare of others is not having too much to drink, but driving a car at all. Drunk or sober.

Jeez Chalo, get up on the wrong side of bed today?

My point is simple. Mixing vehicles and alcohol is a poor idea. Both for the rider, and for the other people it endangers.

- Steve

 

[Chalo]

When you've had too much to drink and you still need to get someplace, walking or pushing pedals is a benign and situationally appropriate way to deal with your situation.

When you're cold sober and you need to get someplace, driving a car is an irresponsible, dangerous, and self-indulgent way to put your convenience over the health and safety of others.

That's what I'm saying.

The mere presence of a cop poses a greater threat to public safety than the drunkest possible bike rider, to put it in another perspective. So who's really served by cops charging cyclists with DWI? Better for everyone if anti-cyclist cops just stay home and eat the working end of their service weapons. Two problems solved at once.

 

[wineboyrider]

Actually, I agree with Chalo so far on all of this. Best advice for your friend to fight the DUI is to go to jury trial. Seems there might not be enough evidence to prove a case .....

 

[dogman dan]

Yes,, fight it. chance to win if you fight. Costs you lawyer up money though, which he may not have. Jury may not agree with the cops, may rule in a way the law doesn't want. Plea down to drunk in public is one option. Change your story to I was walking with the bike because I decided I was too drunk to ride it.

But yeah,, you can get the arrest in any vehicle, motorized, non motorized. You can DUI riding a horse, driving a horse and wagon, etc.

I don't mean this was ok,, in any way. But since it was not a car or fast motorcycle, worth a try to keep your driving record clean. uh,, unless it's your 10th one.

 

[fatbike rider]

nys law states its not a motor vehicle if you are using it under muscle power well thats on how i interpret it, they wrote it vaguely for situations like this . as far as i can tell by reading the laws how the wrote them its just for ebikes you can get as drunk as you want and ride a segway around because the wheels are not inline with each other

 

[Offroader]

You can't get a DWI in New York state on a bicycle. However, you really screwed because of the motor on the bike.

I'm not sure how the law would work in this situation if you had the motor disconnected. If you fight it and use your friend as a witness that you had your motor disconnected and if your friend made sure of that for you to be safe the state may not be able to prove its case.

It is not like they could get a police saying they saw you riding the bike with the motor, they found you passed out.

I wonder if there is any case law out there in situations like this where you have a motor but it is disconnected.

 

[Chalo]

In Texas, one of the mysteries of our traffic law is that for the purposes of DWI, a horse is a motor vehicle... but a mule is not.

In terms of the public interest, riding either one while drunk should qualify as DWI before cycling does. But fair's fair-- I think the horse or mule should have to blow 0.08 for it to stick.