Should cyclists be subject to the same drink laws as drivers when on the roads?

[Thomk]

No cyclists should not be subject to the same drink laws or any other "motor vehicle" laws. Bicycles are not motor vehicles and all laws relating to them should be designed for them. It is possible that it is a bad idea to drink and drive, drink and ride, drink and walk, drink and use forums, drink and have sex, drink and parachute out of hot air balloons, drink and argue with your neighbour etc. Not all of these actions should be subject to drink driving laws though and indeed some of them (using internet forums while steaming drunk for instance) should be encouraged. That's not to say that drink riding is necessarily a good idea and it is certainly worth debating possible penalties so worth bringing up.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991, provides the offence of cycling on a road or public place whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. It states:
30(1) A person who, when riding a cycle on a road or other public place, is unfit to ride through drink or drugs (that is to say, is under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the cycle) is guilty of an offence.

NOTES

(i) The evidence of the extent to which a person is affected must be measured by means other than the provision of a specimen of breath, blood or urine, as there is no power to require such a specimen in these circumstances. However, if such a specimen was offered, it is probable that the evidence obtained by analysis of the specimen would be admissible.
(ii) In Scotland a constable may arrest without warrant a person committing an offence.
(iii) In England and Wales a constable may only arrest without warrant in accordance with the powers of arrest set out in section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. In such an instance, that power might be exercised where a satisfactory address has not been furnished, or the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that arrest is necessary to prevent such a person causing physical injury to himself or any other person (see also other conditions in s24 of PACE).
(iv) The absence of a specific power of arrest in England and Wales affects the ability of the police to present any form of medical evidence of the accused's condition.
(v) There is no offence of 'being in charge' of a cycle under the Road Traffic Acts, but such conduct may well be an offence of drunk in charge of a carriage under section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872. A bicycle or tricycle is a carriage for the purpose of that section.

Well after reading that it would seem that things are fairly well covered and my already none too definite thoughts on the matter have been amended. The existing laws seem to cover things satisfactorily.
My apologies for making a big old fuss about nothing and my apologies to the bloke whose car I splatted myself on whilst pissed up all those years ago. Possibly this whole thread was borne from a sense of that unresolved guilt. (hic)

 

[snorri]

Anyway,drivers who drive carelessly usually get off scot free, whilst drivers who have taken alcohol and commit the same careless driving errors have the book thrown at them. Some people who have not even moved their vehicles get caught by the drink driving laws.
Would you really want to have cyclists subjected to the present drink/drive laws?

Edit to say.... Woops! It looks as if the OP has already had a rethink on this topic .

 

[Beebo]

It could cause a car to swerve and hit someone else. A cyclist whilst drunk could get themselves injured or killed by a driver who was not at fault but will have to live with it on their mind, .

Drunk pedestrians are just as likely to do this. Witness the numbers of drunks walking in the middle of the road in any city centre on Saturday night.

 

[slowmotion]

My apologies for making a big old fuss about nothing and my apologies to the bloke whose car I splatted myself on whilst pissed up all those years ago. Possibly this whole thread was borne from a sense of that unresolved guilt. (hic)

That's a generous gesture Cyclopathic. I too will apologise to the brick wall that came out of nowhere and splatted me.

 

[Cyclopathic]

That's a generous gesture Cyclopathic. I too will aplogise to the brick wall that came out of nowhere and splatted me.

No doubt it was built in a silly place.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Anyway,drivers who drive carelessly usually get off scot free, whilst drivers who have taken alcohol and commit the same careless driving errors have the book thrown at them. Some people who have not even moved their vehicles get caught by the drink driving laws.
Would you really want to have cyclists subjected to the present drink/drive laws?

Edit to say.... Woops! It looks as if the OP has already had a rethink on this topic .

Truth be told I was never entirely convinced of my own argument in the first place but wanted to thrash it out a bit to see what was said. There seems to be a lot of sense in keeping things pretty much as they are and that existing measures are adequate.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Drunk pedestrians are just as likely to do this. Witness the numbers of drunks walking in the middle of the road in any city centre on Saturday night.

Yes, I'm not entirely against the idea of a drink walk limit for dik heads who can't hold their beer. 2 pints or 4 shandys.

 

[subaqua]

I caused one about 20 years ago. I went belting around a corner into a one way street the wrong way and colided head on with a car. No one else was injured (I bruised my entire groinal area after I collided with and bent the alloy handlebar stem.) I think I got away with it only because the poor driver was in shock and absolutely ashen faced and didn't think to call the police. I picked up my bike after taking his insurance details and buggered off as quickly as i could hobble.
I think it is entirely possible if nit likely that I wouldn't have done this had I known that the law about drinking and driving would apply to me equally. Up until that point I'd thought that riding after a few beers was just a perk of bike riding. This incident changed my mind and I still feel bad about it.
All that said doesn't necessarily make my case but I think it would have prevented that particular accident.

if you were sober would you have rode down the street the wrong way ??

 

[MichaelO]

What would happen to pub crawls by Boris bike?!

 

[dawesome]

I bust my nose cycling drunk. It's very silly. Cycling drunk, not my nose.

 

[Crackle]

That's a generous gesture Cyclopathic. I too will aplogise to the brick wall that came out of nowhere and splatted me.

You can get 'morning after' brick walls too, well, sandstone in my case.

 

[dawesome]

For when you get plastered?

 

[MrJamie]

I don't really see it particularly as a problem, theres far more problems with drunken pedestrians than drunken cyclists imho. Id speculate that drink cycling is probably much more dangerous to the rider than anyone else, especially if youre involved in an incident with a vehicle.

Do the current Road Traffic Act laws affect people cycling on cycleways and bridleways, away from traffic and roads? I used to cycle back slowly from a local pub a mile away, but the entire route home was bridleway in the middle of nowhere, it would be crazy to make that illegal.

 

[middleagecyclist]

I had a very drunk cyclist in a&e who'd fallen from a bicycle and badly injured his face last week. Police came looking for him a couple of hours later. Turns out the bike he was on was one he'd just stolen. He fell off within a few metres of the owner who retrieved his bike and gave a full description to the cops. I was secretly stifling a laugh while trying to remain professional. He's going to cost the NHS a few thousand pounds now though! :-(