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General: biking while intoxicated

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    According to an April article in the New York Times "A new study of New York City bicycling accidents over a decade found that one in five cyclists who died had alcohol in the body." Im not sure if this actually means the cyclist were to blame as NYC drivers arent exactly the safest ranking the worst in the country actually. My main question is being I drink and ride most weekends has anyone ever personally seen someone or gotten a ticket for drunk bicycling?
    • CommentAuthorsfbee
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009 edited
     
    I've never heard of/or seen anyone ticketed for this, but I don't think it's a bad idea to keep heavily intoxicated folks off the road, whether it be on bicycle, motorcycle, or in a car. I'm not saying I've never done either, but riding drunk is just about as stupid as driving drunk. It will still impair your judgment, and put both yourself and the cars/cyclists around you at risk.

    Drink in moderation, walk, or take a cab!
  3.  
    They didn't know that 1 in 5 cyclists has had something to drink in the last hour? I could've told them that even without the crash data
  4.  
    i have have seen police give warnings to drunk cyclists but never a ticket.
    • CommentAuthoreaglerock
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     
    My best friend's 25-year old daughter got a ticket for BWI (biking while intoxicated) in Oakland, CA six months ago.

    It's a real thing, kids. As bikes become more prominent, the fact that the motor vehicle code of almost every jurisdiction in the US applies equally to bicycles and their riders is going to mean more enforcement of the rules that are already on the books.

    If California starts handing the statutory $285 ticket to the dipshits (half skinnypants hipsters, half cornerboy thugz) riding down the Bay Area streets with cellphones plastered to their idiot faces, I will be a happy man. When my phone rings, I pull over, like a civilized person.
  7.  
    Posted By: eaglerockIt's a real thing, kids. As bikes become more prominent, the fact that the motor vehicle code of almost every jurisdiction in the US applies equally to bicycles and their riders is going to mean more enforcement of the rules that are already on the books.


    Anyone who drinks or uses and/then rides is a moron, period!
    It’s no different than if you did it in a car or on a motorcycle. Sure, you can ride down the sidewalk, bike path or through the park on your bike, & you’ll likely get away with it. My point is that a bicycle is a vehicle, and if you get caught, they should charge you with operating a vehicle while under the influence, just as if you had a motor!
    • CommentAuthorwes m.
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     
    I drink a 12 pack a year maximum. I have drank a beer or two and then driven. I had to just give up and start walking. The .08 limit in california exceeds my ability to drink and drive... easily. I wouldnt drink and ride because I would hurt myself.

    I have been known to partake in smokeable intoxicants and then ride my bike though. In those situations I'm just cruising. My reaction time is slowed but its still twice as fast as grandpa on his way to country kitchen buffet. I feel that I still meet the standards deemed reasonable by the DMV.

    I dont agree that drinking and riding is as serious as drinking and driving. Its hard to kill a bunch of kids on the sidewalk when you are on a bike.
  9.  
    Posted By: wes m.Its hard to kill a bunch of kids on the sidewalk when you are on a bike.



    WORD
    • CommentAuthorsfbee
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     
    Posted By: wes m.
    I dont agree that drinking and riding is as serious as drinking and driving. Its hard to kill a bunch of kids on the sidewalk when you are on a bike.


    How often do you ride on the sidewalks though, especially in areas densely populated with bars? Folks driving cars already exhibit very little respect for cyclists on the road, and in most cases exhibit even less regard for cyclists on the sidewalk. Do you think you'll be able to effectively dodge the car darting across traffic and into the parking lot/drive way you're approaching when your depth perception and judgment is out of whack? Pretty much every wreck I've been in on a bike has been from riding on the sidewalk, with cars who roll intersections, or race out of parking garages. That shit is hard enough to deal with when I'm sober.
    • CommentAuthorwes m.
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     
    We are having a miscommunication. I'm not suggesting riding on the sidewalk, I'm commenting on the relative ability of a bicycle to jump a curb and kill a pedestrian in comparison to a car. Riding on the sidewalk is definitely sketchy.
    • CommentAuthorcloud
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     
    i think drunk biking has a closer relationship to drunk walking than it does drunk driving as a comparison of endangerment. I've heard of BWI's (or BUI's) given out in my city and i think it's BS. i thought my opinion would be a landslide considering generally people understand the effects and statistics of drunk driving and have often been personally effected. whether on sidewalk or not, bicyclists are killing and threatening no one like cars are. this is not a blanket of approval for all drunk cyclist. if one is acting a public threat or disturbance then certainly tickets can be rightfully issued by the means of public drunkenness, etc.
    • CommentAuthorsfbee
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     
    My perspective isn't based as much on the amount of damage the cyclist itself could do to a person or object, but rather the chain reaction that could occur as a result (e.g. cars swerving to avoid said cyclist, hitting other cars/objects in the process).

    It's definitely not on the same level as drunk driving in risk to others, but is still on the same level of stupidity in my book.
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    Posted By: sfbeeMy perspective isn't based as much on the amount of damage the cyclist itself could do to a person or object, but rather the chain reaction that could occur as a result (e.g. cars swerving to avoid said cyclist, hitting other cars/objects in the process).

    It's definitely not on the same level as drunk driving in risk to others, but is still on the same level of stupidity in my book.


    My point exactly!

    Ride your bike to the corner liquor/dealer, make your purchase & ride to where you’re going to use it. Keep your drunk/stoned ass off ANY vehicle till it wears off. If you don’t, I personally hope you get caught & penalized to the full extent of the law.

    PS: I do my drinking at home...
    • CommentAuthorjakerock
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     
    Im totally into enforcing some kind of DWB!!!
    Bikes are the most hazardous thing on the road here in NYC...
    I'd be even more into people getting tickets for not wearing helmets, not having lights at night and using a phone drinking an iced coffee while riding. How about a ticket for stopping in the middle of a bike lane to take a call or scratch yr. a'ss? All should be punishable.
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    yall are weenerz..

    Ride Fast. Ride Hard. Ride drunk as hell whenever and wherever you want.

    and if a cop tells me different... ill just ride faster.

    anybody whose part of a bike forum and is "into" bikers getting tickets, is a TURD>.
    • CommentAuthorsimonweiss
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     
    Dork^
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    oh man you got me good with your harsh name calling.
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    jakerock is a suv driving bicyclist hater
  20.  
    Posted By: micahellwangeryall are weenerz... Ride Fast. Ride Hard. Ride drunk as hell whenever and wherever you want.


    Natural selection & maturity have ways of sorting people like this out.
    I like to think if it as Mother Natures way of adding chlorine to the gene pool. Just don’t take anyone else down with you when you go. Perhaps a nice tree on some steep single track far back in the hills...
    • CommentAuthorRuffinit
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     
    The problem with a lot of this stuff is that whether you are running red lights, blowing stopsigns, riding drunk, it does more than just affect you, the one. It affects us all. The way we are percieved by the motoring public, the LEOs and others that we cycle with reflects directly on our whole cycling community. If you are older then you have younger kids looking up to you as an example of what to do or not to do and if you're younger then those older than you will be looking to you to verify all the bad things the younger generation is bringing to the world. Much of this is about personal responsibility on and off the bike. The law states that over a certain blood alcohol level you shouldn't be driving. Yeah, a car does more damage (law of gross tonnage), but the way you ride (good or bad) depends upon your ability to react in time to keep yourself and others from being hurt. If you are walking and fall down, it's not likely to cause anyone else a problem and even if you hit your head, you most likely won't be dying. Running while drunk is another thing. And if the LEOs write tickets for what you do on your bike it's not likely that it's because they are just profiling you, it's more likely that you are in the wrong. They've ticketed me enough and in every case I was in the wrong. Think of the times you DIDN'T get caught and should have.

    Don't make the responsible riders bear the burden of your bad judgement.
    • CommentAuthorRuffinit
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     
    Posted By: jakerockHow about a ticket for stopping in the middle of a bike lane to take a call or scratch yr. a'ss?


    LMAO
  23.  
    for real loosen up asshole all you pretentious bike snobs piss me off its supposed to be fun and enjoyable yall ride like assholes i ride drunk sometimes its just how it happens.
    • CommentAuthorRuffinit
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     
    First off I'm not pretentious, secondly I'm not a bike snob. But I do now the difference between right and wrong.

    Why should YOU be able to spoil MY fun and the enjoyment of cycling without paying the consequences? I hope you wear a helmet, because the next cager you piss off may be the one that gets "fun and enjoyment" from seeing you go a$$ over teakettles in the ditch.
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    I’ll pay attention to the FOX 17 News from now on.
    Perhaps I’ll be able to tell it was you from the footage of your mangled bike near the sheet covering your body in the road. Just do me a favor and stay on your side of the state please; I have my hands full dogging those of your kind around here as it is...
    • CommentAuthorsfbee
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009 edited
     
    Posted By: micahellwanger
    yall are weenerz..


    There's nothing pretentious about it. It's called common fucking sense, which you apparently don't have. Have fun smashing the state with your kilo tt, and your face with the concrete.
    • CommentAuthorjakerock
    • CommentTimeJun 27th 2009
     
    Posted By: you dont know mejakerock is a suv driving bicyclist hater


    Heh... I sure do sound like one! LOL
    • CommentAuthorcloud
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009
     
    ruff i understand your premises of influence. i have when i whitness asshole cyclist make brainless decisions and make us all look bad. i think there's some grey to this though, a time and place. ex: i'll run the same stop sign that someone else pissed me off running, though i did it at 1am, they during rush hour. i also can't go on to say that riding home drunk is always derived from bad judgement. unlike stinky pete i rarely drink at home and my bike is my car, my transportation. being hammered is a different story but there have been plenty of times when i've commuted drunk and i know (even in retrospect) that i was composed mentally and physically and it was the best option i had.

    we can mostly agree that biking while drunk is not the same as driving while drunk so should not be considered the same. because it can be dangerous to oneself and the public i can understand it being illegal in some regards but not held to the standard of a DUI, which in AZ is a minimum jail time and fines in excess of $5,000 not including an ignition interlock device (first time offenders). no joke sheriff joe arpaio is intense.
  29.  
    Riding drunk is fuckin stupid. Most of us, micahell excluded, can pretty much agree on that. I mean if it were only you who could get killed as a result of swervin all over the road I'd say go right ahead, but it's never the drunk who gets killed in these things. It's always some innocent kid gets plowed into by a car or someone in a car obeying the laws who has to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting a cyclist.
    Ain't nothin "weenie" about it. I ride hard, fast, backward, retarded, etc but I wouldn't get out there in the middle of traffic if I was drunk for christ's sake. Too many things can go horribly wrong. Now since I don't actually drink it's never been a problem for me but is it really that goddamn difficult to just pass out on your friend's couch till you get sober or walk your bike home that night?
    I'm kinda assuming micahell is just trolling. According to him / her there shouldn't be any restrictions on cyclists that end in ticketing. No cyclist actually believes shit like that. Should we not have to follow any of the rules of the road? Just ride like complete idiots and see what happens?

    Now jakerock about your idea of helmets and blinky lights being required by law. Real talk here dude you gotta think about what a slippery slope that is. The fact that I don't wear a helmet in no way puts anyone else on the road in danger. Only me, which is even debatable. Once a government starts enacting laws to protect it's citizens not from each other, but from themselves, we got problems. Is fattening food next on the list? Way more people die from heart attacks linked directly to diet than bicycle accidents each year. Hell more people drown per year than get killed on a bike. Maybe we should make life jackets required anytime someone enters a pool or goes to the beach? Lots of people die from suicide. Maybe we should all have to take pills that keep those thoughts out and only "good" thoughts in?
    I'm sure you get the idea :)
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    Posted By: iron jaidenRiding drunk is fuckin stupid. Most of us, micahell excluded, can pretty much agree on that. I mean if it were only you who could get killed as a result of swervin all over the road I'd say go right ahead, but it's never the drunk who gets killed in these things. It's always some innocent kid gets plowed into by a car or someone in a car obeying the laws who has to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting a cyclist.
    Ain't nothin "weenie" about it. I ride hard, fast, backward, retarded, etc but I wouldn't get out there in the middle of traffic if I was drunk for christ's sake. Too many things can go horribly wrong. Now since I don't actually drink it's never been a problem for me but is it really that goddamn difficult to just pass out on your friend's couch till you get sober or walk your bike home that night?
    I'm kinda assuming micahell is just trolling. According to him / her there shouldn't be any restrictions on cyclists that end in ticketing. No cyclist actually believes shit like that. Should we not have to follow any of the rules of the road? Just ride like complete idiots and see what happens?

    Now jakerock about your idea of helmets and blinky lights being required by law. Real talk here dude you gotta think about what a slippery slope that is. The fact that I don't wear a helmet in no way puts anyone else on the road in danger. Only me, which is even debatable. Once a government starts enacting laws to protect it's citizens not from each other, but from themselves, we got problems. Is fattening food next on the list? Way more people die from heart attacks linked directly to diet than bicycle accidents each year. Hell more people drown per year than get killed on a bike. Maybe we should make life jackets required anytime someone enters a pool or goes to the beach? Lots of people die from suicide. Maybe we should all have to take pills that keep those thoughts out and only "good" thoughts in?
    I'm sure you get the idea :)


    Amen!
    • CommentAuthorsfbee
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009
     
    Posted By: iron jaidenMaybe we should all have to take pills that keep those thoughts out and only "good" thoughts in?


  32.  
    all i do is drink! i know my limits on a bike and a car... and if i feel too sloshed to drive ill bike, and i always ride on the sidewalk or go down backstreets and if i cant bike then i walk and if i cant walk.... well then our problems are much bigger
  33.  
    Posted By: micahellwangeryall are weenerz..

    Ride Fast. Ride Hard. Ride drunk as hell whenever and wherever you want.

    and if a cop tells me different... ill just ride faster.

    anybody whose part of a bike forum and is "into" bikers getting tickets, is a TURD>.

    w0rd

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