# Comments on Designated drunk **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 20, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227 "2006-10-20T14:49:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/1 "2006-10-20T14:49:15Z")
I have a minor nitpick on Cecil’s column [Designated drunk: Can you get intoxicated without actually drinking alcohol?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/061020.html). In some states (Ohio, for example) the operation of _any_ vehicle while intoxicated is prohibited. This includes bicycles, horse-drawn buggies, and I would presume skateboards. (My only cite is personal conversations with several police officers a decade or more ago–feel free to disprove my assertion.) Of course police aren’t often looking for drunken skateboarders, but I wouldn’t want Uncle Cecil encouraging illegal activities. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/2 "2006-10-20T15:07:53Z")
I would rather be hit by an impaired skateboarder than a impaired SUV’er, regardless of the source of their impairment. ---
**Author:** ![Cicitriz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cicitriz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicitriz)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/3 "2006-10-23T06:48:59Z")
An idea with odd legal ramifications. You can get arrested for DUI in Pima Co. AZ. on a horse. But what if the horse is sober? ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/4 "2006-10-24T17:31:01Z")
[QUOTE=Cicitriz] An idea with odd legal ramifications. You can get arrested for DUI in Pima Co. AZ. on a horse. But what if the horse is sober? [/QUOTE] My guess wouyld be that the horse wouldn’t be arrested in that case. But I wouldn’t want to be the one to give the horse a breathalyzer. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/5 "2006-10-24T21:42:59Z")
I live in a big biking town. There are more bikes here per capita than anywhere in the country (so I’m told). The cops here have no qualms about handing out DUIs to drunk bicyclists, and most people know it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/6 "2006-10-24T22:08:11Z")
> [@](#): > > I live in a big biking town. There are more bikes here per capita than anywhere in the country (so I’m told). The cops here have no qualms about handing out DUIs to drunk bicyclists, and most people know it. I’ve been told that, too (about your town). Having been there for a conference, I can believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/7 "2006-10-29T17:35:37Z")
Do DUIs carry lighter penalties there? Because if not, then that’s messed up. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227/8 "2006-10-29T17:41:38Z")
[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky] Do DUIs carry lighter penalties there? Because if not, then that’s messed up. [/QUOTE] I think it’s slightly different than a real DUI, but its not a joke around these parts. It makes you a safety hazard, if you can’t operate a bike properly, its likely that you could swerve into traffic and a) get yourself killed or b) cause an accident. Here’s my half-assed attempt at a cite: [BUI](http://daviswiki.org/Bicycling_Under_The_Influence)