# Getting a DUI for riding a bicycle while drunk. Is this a common thing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341 "2015-08-08T22:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/21 "2015-08-10T06:40:00Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > . . . I’ve heard of claims of charges against “drunk-walking”. Otherwise known as “public intoxication.” In most places, people don’t get charged with this unless they’re an extreme nuisance or danger to others in public, or exhibiting some kind of behavior that could lead to self-harm. Otherwise courts have ruled they can’t just give a pedestrian a breathalyzer test without a warrant, as they can to the driver of a vehicle, who just might have been swerving a little. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/22 "2015-08-10T06:59:07Z")
In Ohio there’s even a law explicitly stating that you get points on your drivers license if you’re caught riding a bicycle drunk. (Normally you don’t get points for offenses committed on a bicycle. It’s the only exception, purposefully carved out.) ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/23 "2015-08-10T09:22:41Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > In Ohio there’s even a law explicitly stating that you get points on your drivers license if you’re caught riding a bicycle drunk. (Normally you don’t get points for offenses committed on a bicycle. It’s the only exception, purposefully carved out.) What if you don’t have a driver’s license? Any additional punishment? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/24 "2015-08-10T09:34:23Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > What if you don’t have a driver’s license? Any additional punishment? I think the points are put on your driving record whether you have a license or not. So if you got a license within the next two years, it would start out right away with 6 points. Likewise, your driving privileges are suspended whether you have any or not, so you wouldn’t be able to even try to get a license for a while. ---
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/25 "2015-08-10T14:25:30Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I think the points are put on your driving record whether you have a license or not. So if you got a license within the next two years, it would start out right away with 6 points. Likewise, your driving privileges are suspended whether you have any or not, so you wouldn’t be able to even try to get a license for a while. Bit harsh, but you live in “Murrica”. I checked - here in Slovenia are same penalties as for classical DUI - but you do not get points. Highest Penalty is 1200 eur and bike confiscation, if involved in accident and it was your fault. There are around 1000 cases per year, 150 involved in accidents. Region has 2 mio inhabitants, do your maths … And interesting fact, if you drive another person or child on the bike, then the limit drops to 0 … Not sure about tandems … :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![trmptgn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@trmptgn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trmptgn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/26 "2015-08-10T16:15:46Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Indiana … the story I heard was a guy just sitting in his car in his own driveway with the keys in his pocket … DUI I’ve been charged with DUI before and had to do the state mandated classes relating to it. There was one person there who got a DUI for driving his work truck around his farm on private property. He was near the easement and stopped when an officer flashed his lights at him. It resulted in him being convicted. I’m not sure what quality his attorney was. Another friend of mine has a sister who got convicted of a DUI when she went out to look for something in her car outside of a bar. The cop saw her open the driver’s side door and rummage through the center console. She never got in but he stopped her and arrested her after she failed the sobriety checks. I know she’s a very responsible person and had no intention of driving, but even after hiring a top notch attorney she got stuck with that one. In regards to bikes - I totally understand why they give those tickets out. Have you ever tried riding a bike any distance while pretty drunk? You are definitely a danger to cars around you. On a side note: In the class I attended I would say about 60% of the people who were arrested were eating fast food while driving home. About half of those people were eating tacos from Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/27 "2015-08-10T19:03:35Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > My daughter and I toured UC Davis. Davis Ca is one of the most bike friendly cities in the U.S. > Our guide mentioned that the Davis police were known to give out BUI tickets and if a student was going to party they would be better off to call the tipsy taxi. The City of Davis also has bike cops (cops on bikes, often watching for bicycle infractions). There used to be bike cops intermittently watching the main crossings connecting the university to the city, giving tickets to bikes that did rolling stops at the stop signs. (There may still be - I just haven’t been there in awhile.) Such watches would be advertised near the beginning of the school year. The idea was that there are two sides to Bike Friendly, and one side was encouraging cyclists to follow the laws. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/28 "2015-08-10T19:43:39Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > The City of Davis also has bike cops (cops on bikes, often watching for bicycle infractions). There used to be bike cops intermittently watching the main crossings connecting the university to the city, giving tickets to bikes that did rolling stops at the stop signs. (There may still be - I just haven’t been there in awhile.) Such watches would be advertised near the beginning of the school year. The idea was that there are two sides to Bike Friendly, and one side was encouraging cyclists to follow the laws. speaking as a bike rider that follows the rules, that sounds like an excellent idea. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341/29 "2015-08-12T04:52:15Z")
> [@yo\_han\_go](#): > > Bit harsh, but you live in “Murrica”. I forgot this part: Ending a DUI suspension costs $475. After your suspension ends, you still can’t drive a car (but are fine on the bike you used to commit the offense) until you pay that “fee.” (The “fees” vary wildly based on why you were suspended. But they’re absolutely definitely 100% fees and not fines, even though they’re worse the more serious the reason. Ending the suspension you get if you drop out of school before 18 is only $40. I guess the computer knows what you did wrong and uses more electricity to change your record.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-a-dui-for-riding-a-bicycle-while-drunk-is-this-a-common-thing/727341.md?page=1)