Riding Whilst Drunk?
- Thread starter blazed
- Start date
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l4dva
Guru
- Location
- Sunny Brum!
If you wanna loose your balance and break your neck go ahead mate!
aJohnson
Senior Member
- Location
- Bury, Manchester
I'm fairly sure the rule applies to cycles aswell, so I've been told.
Will1985
Über Member
- Location
- South Norfolk
You can get arrested as drunk in charge of a push bike. Not sure about the consequences, but there was a chap at school who received an FPN.
No. It's a totally different offence. Technically you could be done for having much less in your system than the motor vehicle drink drive limit or it might be deemed that many pints was too much. Breathalisers aren't supposed to be used but it's not unheard of for it to be wrongly applied. There were two cases when I lived in York. One guy was arrested for not being able to ride his bike, the other crashed and was mugged and was viewed as the victim.
aJohnson said:
Nope.
Compare
5 Driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle with alcohol concentration above prescribed limit
(1) If a person—
(a) drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, or
(is in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place,
after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit he is guilty of an offence.
(2) snip
(3) snip
.
6 Breath tests
(1) Where a constable in uniform has reasonable cause to suspect—
(a) that a person driving or attempting to drive or in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place has alcohol in his body or has committed a traffic offence whilst the vehicle was in motion, or
(that a person has been driving or attempting to drive or been in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place with alcohol in his body and that that person still has alcohol in his body, or
(c) that a person has been driving or attempting to drive or been in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place and has committed a traffic offence whilst the vehicle was in motion,
he may, subject to section 9 of this Act, require him to provide a specimen of breath for a breath test.
(2) If an accident occurs owing to the presence of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, a constable may, subject to section 9 of this Act, require any person who he has reasonable cause to believe was driving or attempting to drive or in charge of the vehicle at the time of the accident to provide a specimen of breath for a breath test.
(3) A person may be required under subsection (1) or subsection (2) above to provide a specimen either at or near the place where the requirement is made or, if the requirement is made under subsection (2) above and the constable making the requirement thinks fit, at a police station specified by the constable.
(4) snip
(5) A constable may arrest a person without warrant if—
(a) as a result of a breath test he has reasonable cause to suspect that the proportion of alcohol in that person’s breath or blood exceeds the prescribed limit, or
(that person has failed to provide a specimen of breath for a breath test when required to do so in pursuance of this section and the constable has reasonable cause to suspect that he has alcohol in his body,
but a person shall not be arrested by virtue of this subsection when he is at a hospital as a patient.
snip ...
with
OP
OP
blazed
220lb+
Good thanks. I road about 20 miles to a party last night and thought i may as well take the bike for every night out. It will save me about £90 a time in cab fares as well.
I have a high tolerance to alcohol so I'm not worried about not being able to ride as usual but a breathalyzer would still show me as over the limit.
I have a high tolerance to alcohol so I'm not worried about not being able to ride as usual but a breathalyzer would still show me as over the limit.
I once went to a barbecue, and had a courier bag full of bottles of beer. Was legless on the ride home, and managed to clip the bag on a lampost.
The clang was deafening.
One other time, I rode with my front wheel unfastened. Couldn't work out why my brakes went on when I rode round corners.
It's stupid, I won't say don't do it, but it's stupid and dangerous.
The clang was deafening.
One other time, I rode with my front wheel unfastened. Couldn't work out why my brakes went on when I rode round corners.
It's stupid, I won't say don't do it, but it's stupid and dangerous.
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
blazed said:
I don't want to come over all "holier than thou" but this strikes me as pretty stupid. I think you're taking a big risk with your life and even worse perhaps someone else's.
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
Mr Summerdays for example won't drink and drive at all, whereas he will have a couple of drinks and cycle (but not blind drunk).
simon_brooke
New Member
- Location
- Auchencairn
blazed said:
A friend of mine was arrested, charged and fined for being drunk in charge of a vehicle on Princes Street in Edinburgh in 1972 or 73; the vehicle in question was a child's perambulator. I don't think the law says anything special about motor vehicles.
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
colinr said:
It might be safer actually, you can't slip off the pedals. I've ridden my fixed with SPDs whilst fairly intoxicated a few times and not come to any harm but only on empty roads at night, and over very short (not much more than a mile) distances.
Matthew
Here in Amsterdam it is pretty common to cycle to pubs and clubs. You do get occasional accidents, but most of them are very minor. Here the police can't arrest you for being drunk on a bicycle, but they can stop you and advise you to walk the rest of the way (unless you call them names for stoping you ofcourse) and when theyre out of sight you just get on again.
