DUI Without a Car?

Can you get a DUI if you aren’t driving a car? You sure can. Most states drunk driving laws cover all motor vehicles, and most define “operating a vehicle” as simply being behind the wheel, even if the car is parked or the engine turned off.

 

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Human beings are creative creatures, and sometimes, alcohol can enhance that creativity. Many people are arrested each year for DUI without ever getting behind the wheel of a traditional car or truck.

People have been charged with a DUI while operating:

• Motorized wheelchairs
• Go-karts
• ATVs
• Snowmobiles
• Boats
• Tractors
• Scooters

In most states, any vehicle with a motor, including electric motors, counts as a motor vehicle. DUI state laws are written to cover anyone operating any motor vehicle while drunk. This includes cars, boats, ATVs and, yes, even motorized wheelchairs.

In some states, the laws expand to include operating other vehicles. There are records of DUI charges for people riding horses or bicycles while intoxicated. These charges may not stick in court, or may be dropped later, but the why take the risks?

Under the law, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher. For commercial drivers, the legal limit is often much lower. Since DUI laws can also be applied to modes of transportation that we don’t often think of as vehicles, it’s often best to stay put if you have consumed alcohol.

In fact, in some states, you don’t even have to be actively operating a motor vehicle to be charged with DUI. Some state laws define operating a vehicle as simply being behind the wheel. If the car is parked, pulled over or even with the engine off, you may be considered operating the vehicle.

There are even cases where an intoxicated passenger has been charged with DUI. One case in Minnesota involved a husband and wife, both of whom had been drinking. The husband was driving when the wife grabbed the steering wheel and the car careened into a ditch. They both were arrested for DUI.

There was also a recent case where a student driving instructor was charged with a DUI while giving driver’s ed lessons from the passenger’s seat.

We have not yet heard of a person charged with DUI for walking, but public drunkenness and disorderly conduct laws could apply.

Your best bet is to play it safe: Make plans for a safe ride home, be it with public transportation, taxi or designated driver. Or remain firmly on your barstool until you’re sure you are below the legal limit. (Definitely don’t drive if your barstool is attached to a small motor scooter, as was the case with a man in Newark, N.J., who tried to drive home a self-made vehicle that had four-lawnmower wheels and a five-horsepower motor. He, too, was charged with DUI.)

If you have questions, contact a local DUI lawyer to find out how the DUI laws in your state could affect you.

Remember: It is never a good idea to operate a vehicle of any kind while intoxicated, no matter how inventive your choice of vehicle may be.

State DUI Laws
DUI laws for all 50 states

By Patrick Johnson Published: 4/3/2009