The states vehicle codeThe United States Census Bureau says that the number of Americans who elect to travel by bicycle rather than by motor vehicle has risen by 43% since 2000. With that many people peddling to get to where they are going, it is safe to assume that a fair number of them are doing so while intoxicated. While every state has its own laws and penalties, drinking and driving is illegal nationwide. The behavior involves potentially deadly risks, not only for the impaired driver, but also to all other drivers, pedestrians, and passengers on the road. But does that mean that drinking and biking is also illegal? DWI laws tend to cover automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, SUVs, motorboats, snowmobiles, aircraft, commercial vehicles, and other various forms of traditional and nontraditional forms of motorized …show more content…
However, in regards to bicycles, specific State laws vary across the country. In many states, DUI and DWI laws are applied strictly to impaired drivers of motor vehicles. Some do not even consider a bicycle to be of form of vehicle. However, there are a few locations where drunken bicyclists can be penalized in the same ways as drunk drivers. For example, drunk bikers have faced criminal charges in Vernal, Utah, and Boulder, Colorado. In California, the state vehicle code allows police to arrest and charge bicyclists on the highway who are impaired by alcohol, and the bikers could be fine $250. For Minnesota specifically, most residents are well aware of the state’s stiff drunk driving penalties. Despite this, there are no such legal infractions outlined in the law books for those who operate a bicycle while under the influence of alcohol. Minnesota law only addresses the impaired handling of motor vehicles. Motor vehicles, as outlined in the statutes, are objects that move without the use of human power. Anything that is moved strictly by human force alone does not fall in line with this