A judge in Vernal Utah has recently ruled that Utah's DUI laws apply to a bicyclist. No really. You can now get a citation for riding drunk on a bike here in the Beehive State. I normally just post about my own adventures here but I thought this was interesting and tied in with my Utah Outbacking. Thought that some of my readers might find it interesting, especially those from out of state. Take Heed, drinking and biking in Utah, don't mix well with the local justice.
The alternative press in SLC had a heyday with this news, specifically the City Weekly. According to an article by Jesse Fruhwirth, a man was ticketed after exiting a local Vernal bar and riding away on his bike, and later found guilty of violating Utah's nebulous DUI statute. The judge in the case cited that the perp was definitely on or in a "vehicle" and that the plain language of the law does not exclude a bicycle. Ogden DUI defense attorney Glen Neeley asks, if a bike is a vehicle, what other “vehicles” could be included in the law? Wow! if the DUI law applies to a bike as a vehicle then the broad stroke of this ruling may include such conveyances as Hiking Boots.
The argument is not whether drinking and biking is safe, the question really is whether it applies under Utah's DUI laws that are meant to prevent someone from getting behind the wheel of a automobile and using it to harm others. According to the City Weekly article, of the 2,740 fatal Utah road crashes between 1998 and 2007, only 60 involved a bicyclist, and drug or alcohol impairment does not register among the contributing factors to bicycle crashes. None of the accidents reported that the "driver" of a bike was responsible for any deaths.
The ruling is being taken to the States Supreme Court, but if the court agrees with the Vernal judge, this could have a impact and lead to DUI-bike being the Law of the Land. Law enforcement in Utah is sent the message that they can start stopping people for this.
Hmmm.Can you imagine Moab in Spring!
