Can you get a BUI/DUI on a bike?

[ygmir]

:idea:
Theme Camp idea! Alcohol testing! How expensive are those devices that DUI suspects breathe into? What are those things even called, so I can search for them?

I want to at least test myself. I've never been tested, but I have a hunch that .08 is really quite drunk by my standards.

Oh... and one of my fondest memories from 2006 is riding my giant oversize bicycle while good-n-drunk, wobbling along and falling off a couple of times. An E-ticket ride!

I got one from BevMo - it was pretty accurate for what it was, and I think it was like 35 bucks or so... As long as you followed the instrictions, it was within a point of the ones we use for doing random tests on our employees... The sensor eventually goes bad, tho, and no idea how it would react to playa dust love...

maybe a rectal one would work better?

[Elliot]

Letter of the law, and a cop going out, looking for trouble.

Seems to me... more like the beer-drinker going out in his driveway looking for trouble by disturbing his neighbors with the overly loud car stereo. But then... I'm me.

[Elliot]

maybe a rectal one would work better?

Methane versus ethanol.... We could compare BTUs! And run a refrigerator to keep the beer cold!

[ygmir]

maybe a rectal one would work better?

Methane versus ethanol.... We could compare BTUs! And run a refrigerator to keep the beer cold!

there's a picture floating in my head......and I'm not sure I like it.

[Elliot]

You have a propane generator! I bet it would run on methane!

[ygmir]

hhmmm.......

eat beans and cabbage......run generator...........it's a win/win........except for those down wind.

[The Bruce]

So if I am reading this correctly you cannot get a DUI while riding a bike but you can if that bike has an electric assist feature such as an electric hub? I am specificly curious if I can get a dui wile operating a 4 wheel Surry qudaracycle as found at the link. http://www.incredicycles.com/products/c ... daler.html minus the electric assist.

[gyre]

Bear in mind that breath measurement has little correlation to blood alcohol.
I can teach you how to make the machine go up and down.

And blood alcohol is not a direct measurement of impairment, which is what matters.

[Elliot]

Bruce, young friend, if I've learned anything in 60 years on this rock, it's that the number of wheels on your Super-Duper BelchFire-500 Surrisurrium-DoubleHulled PentaCycle does not matter. What matters is YOU.

Here is an example: I used to work for a trucking company in Sacramento. We bought 50 new trucks in Salt Lake City, and over some weeks a bunch of us flew there and drove a new truck home. I did six or eight of them. With no license plates, most of those 50 trucks were stopped at the weigh station coming into California, to verify the temporary permits.

You're catching on now, right? Some of those drivers were inspected with a fine tooth comb, and cited for trivial violations like a messy log book. Other drivers showed the temporary permits, exchanged pleasantries, and sailed thru.

Do I need to go on?

[CornMan]

In many jurisdictions, it comes down to two parts: being UI and having "care and control". If you have, or can get, possession of the keys, then you are viewed as having C&C as you have the means of starting and driving. UI + C&C = DUI.
Justification is, as you're UI, you can't rely upon not deciding to drive.

In some "care and control" jurisdictions, if the keys are anywhere in the car (or within reach: in pocket, on hood, etc.), you have care & control. In others, if you put the keys in the trunk, they'll accept that as not having access to keys, hence not having C&C (assuming you're not in the trunk too). In some, you can throw the ignition key into the woods/field beside the road to demonstrate lack of C&C (so you can say in court that while UI there is no way you could have found it). Know what it is where you will be. Your results may vary.
Around my area, in trunk sometimes works. I thought it would be more clearly defined by prior decisions, but it appears to depend on what the judge thinks of the circumstances.

Do these care and control clauses pertain only to drinking and driving? What if a lady is sleeping off a bottle of wine while in possession of a vagina. Can the cops get her for prostitution because she has the capability to commit that crime?

[Bob]

Now, don't get autobiographical on us.

[The Bruce]

@ Elliot Thanks for your analogy it fit well because I work as a commercial driver which is why im really concerned that I comply with DUI laws even on the playa.

[Savannah]

Good plan, The Bruce.

If I were you, I would try to google current 2012 Nevada legal information. Since you can lose your commercial license for a DUI, the stakes are especially high for you, and possibly no one but yourself can decide what level of risk is acceptable. A well-lit bike or quad bicycle, behaving well, seems like an unlikely target . . . but as a driver, this is your livelihood we're talking about.

[Elliot]

@ Elliot Thanks for your analogy it fit well because I work as a commercial driver which is why im really concerned that I comply with DUI laws even on the playa.

Wow, what a coincidence! Then I don't need to tell you how "scary" some of our colleagues are! But yeah, in your situation, you should go easy on the alcohol even at BM. I worked in our Safety Department for a while, and we took ANY negative information as a very big red flag.

[AntiM]

So if I am reading this correctly you cannot get a DUI while riding a bike but you can if that bike has an electric assist feature such as an electric hub? I am specificly curious if I can get a dui wile operating a 4 wheel Surry qudaracycle as found at the link. http://www.incredicycles.com/products/c ... daler.html minus the electric assist.

Once the vehicle has four wheels on the playa, and the electric assist, it is no longer a bike. No assist, it is a bike. The DMV allows the assist for three or two wheels, and they remain bikes. Four wheels makes it a mutant vehicle under the Nevada laws; DMV will require licensing. I would then extrapolate and assume it becomes a real DUI in that case.

(MyLArry is also a trucker and we have a Rhoadescar).

[gyre]

There is also the consideration of whether on or off road matters in nevada.

I don't think anyone here knows.
State law can be very specific in a case like this.
There was a long thread about this on an auto forum I'm on.
It's about as weird as gun transport law.

You said wihout assist, right?

I doubt 4 wheels makes it an auto, esp without power.
The three wheels thing is probably derived from motorcycle law.

True that on playa four wheels powered needs special permits.

I've met people locked up for refusing to drive drunk.
Seems odd to discourage people from staying parked.

[Canoe]

from http://www.bicyclenevada.com/law.html
Nevada Revised Statutes: bicycle laws excerpt

NRS 484.019 "Bicycle" defined.
"Bicycle" means a device propelled by human power upon which a person may ride, having two tandem wheels either of which is over 14 inches in diameter, or every such device generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear wheels except a moped.

NRS 484.505 Riding on bicycle.
2. No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed and equipped.

NRS 484.513 Lamps, reflectors and brakes required on bicycles.
1. Every bicycle when in use at night must be equipped with:
(a) A lamp on the front which emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front;
(b) A red reflector on the rear of a type approved by the department which must be visible from 50 feet to 300 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle; and
(c) Reflective material of a sufficient size and reflectivity to be visible from both sides of the bicycle for 600 feet when directly in front of the lawful lower beams of the head lamps of a motor vehicle, or in lieu of such material, a lighted lamp visible from both sides from a distance of at least 500 feet.

Most jurisdiction define a bicycle for the purposes of an assisted bicycle as up to two wheels, with or without a minimum wheel size to exclude the little jock-pocket rockets. Still looking.


NRS 484A.025 “Bicycle” defined. “Bicycle” means a device propelled by human power upon which a person may ride, having two tandem wheels either of which is over 14 inches in diameter, or every such device generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear wheels except a moped.
(Added to NRS by 1969, 1476; A 1975, 1077)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 484.019)

[Canoe]

extracted from
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Bil ... 441_EN.pdf

Chapter 480 of NRS is hereby amended

Sec. 2. “Electric bicycle” means a device upon which a person may ride, having two or three wheels, or every such device generally recognized as a bicycle that has fully operable pedals and is propelled by a small electric engine which produces not more than 1 gross brake horsepower and which produces not more than 750 watts final output, and:
1. Is designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground but is not a tractor; and
2. Powered solely by such a small electric engine, is capable of a maximum speed of not more than 20 miles per hour on a flat surface while carrying an operator who weighs 170 pounds. - The term does not include a moped.

Sec. 10. Chapter 483 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:
“Electric bicycle” means a device upon which a person may ride, having two or three wheels, or every such device generally recognized as a bicycle that has fully operable pedals and is propelled by a small electric engine which produces not more than 1 gross brake horsepower and which produces not more than 750 watts final output, and:
1. Is designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground but is not a tractor; and
2. Powered solely by such a small electric engine, is capable of a maximum speed of not more than 20 miles per hour on a flat surface while carrying an operator who weighs 170 pounds. - The term does not include a moped.

Note that it says Electric bicycle, not assisted bicycle. Also that it excludes single wheel vehicles.

[AntiM]

You can email the DMV for a decision on the electric assist on the quad. We were given hell one year at the gate, trying to convince the gal that the battery was simply a lighting system. She was ready to condemn it to the holding lot. I know this is a separate issue, but one you may want an answer to before you bring it to the gate.

MyLarry has pedaled around with a beer. Or two. The quad is so stable it is really hard to look fucked up on it.

[CornMan]

Riding a bike while intoxicated can be deadly for the public at large. One drunk person on a bicycle can take out an entire family. Google the statistics of deaths drunk bicycle riders cause to others on the road. The results will shock you.

[Elliot]

Riding a bike while intoxicated can be deadly for the public at large. One drunk person on a bicycle can take out an entire family. Google the statistics of deaths drunk bicycle riders cause to others on the road. The results will shock you.

Dang. How could I possibly harm anyone with just my bicycle?

[Canoe]

Dang. How could I possibly harm anyone with just my bicycle?

Someone trying to get it up to 5 mph?

[Elliot]

What was better than high speed on that thing, was that it could go 0 (zero) MPH. That is, the tires are wide enough it would not tip over. To park, I just hooked a bungee cord on the brake lever, stepped off, and walked away.

[Canoe]

...the tires are wide enough it would not tip over...

"Look at that guy! He's either passed out or waiting for the starting gun."

And I guess if locked, no one's going to throw it on their shoulder and run...

A friend has a 16 lbs and a 12 lbs that he's trying to get down to 8 lbs or 6 lbs; Carbon fiber frame & single piece CNC sprockets that have to be held to be believed. The carbon fiber seat looks like a shoe horn. I wouldn't want to sneeze while sitting on it. I'm building a custom 8' semi-recumbent electric-assist mid-frame-hub-trans cargo fat-bike. My wheels might weigh more than his bike. He's a Clyde, I'm smaller. We're guessing that he on his bike will weigh around the same as me on mine... if he cuts back on the beer. I think I'm going to win.

[Canoe]

Do these care and control clauses pertain only to drinking and driving? What if a lady is sleeping off a bottle of wine while in possession of a vagina. Can the cops get her for prostitution because she has the capability to commit that crime?

In that case, she does not have C&C. That's why she's out of bounds.

Having C&C, or preventing someone from having C&C, in some jurisdictions may also be regarded as theft or possession of stolen.

[delle]

An interesting little aside (not exactly on topic) from this week's news here in Quebec:

A couple of guys who were ticketed for not respecting a stop sign while bicycling are contesting the fact that the act automatically awarded them demerit points on their driver's licenses.


Say WHAT? I had no idea!!!

So much for taking my bike to nearby parties.

[Bob]

Some people think getting on a bicycle makes them some kind of fucking saint. It's not even like praying the fucking rosary. Well, it would be like doing the fucking rosary, if you were praying in traffic, taking up space on a public road.

[gyre]

There's a lot I could say, but reality is

6 pound bike frame < 3000 pound car

[Bob]

Riding a bike doesn't even buy you alternate weekends off in Purgatory.

[theCryptofishist]

Too many bicyclests have sticks up their butts, and are so close to being fucking saints in their own mind, that they pay little attention to traffic laws and expect everyone else to make room for them....