Man Gets DWI After Riding Motorized Cooler

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Well he was riding on public street and what if he swerved out when a car was passing forcing it into on coming trafic. I do agree DUI is a bit harsh and the cops should have tould him just to get that thing off the road. There's a guy who rides one of those things around the parking lot at Redskins home games.

Same as if he was walking or riding a bike.

What if he ran into a group of pedestrians? Same as in a car or same as a person/bike?

A DUI in this situation is retarded.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

Same as if he was walking or riding a bike.

What if he ran into a group of pedestrians? Same as in a car or same as a person/bike?

A DUI in this situation is retarded.

If your riding a bike on a public street you can be charged in som if not all states. I don't think if your cutting grass on your property you can get a DUI but they might be able to give you a drinking in public.

[Daseal]

If your riding a bike on a public street you can be charged in som if not all states. I don't think if your cutting grass on your property you can get a DUI but they might be able to give you a drinking in public.

I don't think this is correct. The whole share the road movement is because bicyclists have to be on the road. They can be ticketed for riding on sidewalks. As far as cutting your grass on your property, you can get a DUI, IF you're within (I think) 10 feet of a public road. Because anything 10 feet on either side of a government road is 'government property.' It's ridiculous, but yes -- you can get a DUI while cutting your grass. However, you can blow a .01 and .00 on a breathalizer and still be dragged in on DUI charges. .08 as arbitrary as that is isn't the set in stone number for Virginia, in fact, there isn't one -- it's a guideline.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I can't defend a dumb law like that.

[MTK]

I guess the message is don't drink and go near anything with wheels.

Could you get a DUI in a wheelchair?

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by Daseal

I don't think this is correct. The whole share the road movement is because bicyclists have to be on the road. They can be ticketed for riding on sidewalks. As far as cutting your grass on your property, you can get a DUI, IF you're within (I think) 10 feet of a public road. Because anything 10 feet on either side of a government road is 'government property.' It's ridiculous, but yes -- you can get a DUI while cutting your grass. However, you can blow a .01 and .00 on a breathalizer and still be dragged in on DUI charges. .08 as arbitrary as that is isn't the set in stone number for Virginia, in fact, there isn't one -- it's a guideline.

Looks pretty set in stone to me.

Legislative Information System

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I guess the message is don't drink and go near anything with wheels.

Could you get a DUI in a wheelchair?

It says you can in the first post.
Seriously, how pissed would you be if you had to rely on a wheelchair and a cop gave you a DUI for using it?!?!?! That would be a pretty low move on the cop's part.

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by Lady Brave

Looks pretty set in stone to me.

Legislative Information System

Those are disjunctive - any of them is DUI, not just .08.

18.2-26(i) means that .08 is presumptively a DUI (i.e., they don't have to prove you were actually impaired).

18.2-26(ii) means that you could blow .01, but it could be a DUI if they can otherwise prove you were impaired by alcohol.

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

Those are disjunctive - any of them is DUI, not just .08.

18.2-26(i) means that .08 is presumptively a DUI (i.e., they don't have to prove you were actually impaired).

18.2-26(ii) means that you could blow .01, but it could be a DUI if they can otherwise prove you were impaired by alcohol.

I was just trying to get some clarification about what Daseal meant. In my experience, most every state has a "set in stone" number as to the legal limit for DWI. Now I see that VA takes it a step farther by establishing probable cause for "impairment".

It's not like that in NC. If you don't blow a .08 a magistrate will automatically find no probable cause. The lesser offense we can charge people with is driving after consuming, which is only punishable by a fine and court costs.

[skinsfan_nn]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I guess the message is don't drink and go near anything with wheels.

Could you get a DUI in a wheelchair?

Now now, that doesn't apply if you happen to be at a NASCAR event. Which by the way that looks like a awful good place for that cooler w/ wheels....

Really at some point common sense has to come into play along the way somewhere, doesn't it....never mind.

[djnemo65]

I thought the main purpose of DUI laws was to protect people from injury. Hard to see this guy riding his scooter resulting in anything worse than him driving into an open manhole cover.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

I thought the main purpose of DUI laws was to protect people from injury. Hard to see this guy riding his scooter resulting in anything worse than him driving into an open manhole cover.

Well, he could have swerved into traffic and caused an accident. I don't necessarily agree with him getting a DUI but the possibility of some sort of accident/injury was there.

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Well, he could have swerved into traffic and caused an accident. I don't necessarily agree with him getting a DUI but the possibility of some sort of accident/injury was there.

Right, but the danger there isn't due to him operating heavy machinery - it's due to him putting an object in the road and causing other cars to have to react. The laws are designed to protect against certain occurrences, and I don't think DUI laws are designed to protect against what this guy was doing.

How fast is 13mph, anyway? Slower than a bike and faster than you can run?

[onlydarksets]

Along the same lines, did anyone see this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25123570/

OCEANSIDE, Calif. - On a Monday morning last month, highway patrol officers visited 20 classrooms at El Camino High School to announce some horrible news: Several students had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend.

Classmates wept. Some became hysterical.

A few hours and many tears later, though, the pain turned to fury when the teenagers learned that it was all a hoax — a scared-straight exercise designed by school officials to dramatize the consequences of drinking and driving.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

Right, but the danger there isn't due to him operating heavy machinery - it's due to him putting an object in the road and causing other cars to have to react. The laws are designed to protect against certain occurrences, and I don't think DUI laws are designed to protect against what this guy was doing.

How fast is 13mph, anyway? Slower than a bike and faster than you can run?

I dunno... I would think the laws are in place to prevent accidents and injuries regardless of what the person is driving or operating. I know it seems trivial, but to me if you are drunk it makes sense that you shouldn't be on the road operating anything.