Drunk Cycling

Bluefoam

Something that has come up on a UK forum: if you are caught by the Gardaí's intoxicated while in control of a pedal vehicle, are you liable to lose your drivers license?

blorg

Not in this jurisdiction AFAIK although it is an offence. I know it is the case in some European countries although how often it actually happens is another question.

Beasty

Definitely not in the UK either, although you can be charged over there with being "drunk in charge of a bicycle"

murrayp4

I think it has to be a mechanically propelled ve-hicle...

Piercemeear

Does the same breathalyzer level apply? i.e. is the alcohol limit the same as for a motorised vehicle?

Just curious as I'd never drive with even a pint, but I'd happily cycle with two. Cycling seems to have a sobering effect, generally, while driving makes one sleepy.

Has anyone been breathalysed cycling? You hear stories but I've never heard directly from anyone who was.

heebusjeebus

Happened to a friend of mine in college. The Gardai must have had nothing better to do as all they did was make him walk home with the bike as they followed behind him.

mcgratheoin

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Happened to a friend of mine in college. The Gardai must have had nothing better to do as all they did was make him walk home with the bike as they followed behind him.

Happened a mate of mine too. Made him walk and then circled around the block to make sure he hadn't hopped back on the bike as soon as they pulled away.

Lumen

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Happened to a friend of mine in college. The Gardai must have had nothing better to do as all they did was make him walk home with the bike as they followed behind him.

They were probably trying to save themselves the paperwork from a fatal RTA.

Saxobank

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Happened to a friend of mine in college. The Gardai must have had nothing better to do as all they did was make him walk home with the bike as they followed behind him.

You can be arrested and brought before the courts for it. As for that comment, have you seen what someone is like on a bike drunk? ....extremely dangerous to themselves and to traffic

Saxobank

Piercemeear wrote: »

Does the same breathalyzer level apply? i.e. is the alcohol limit the same as for a motorised vehicle?

Just curious as I'd never drive with even a pint, but I'd happily cycle with two. Cycling seems to have a sobering effect, generally, while driving makes one sleepy.

Has anyone been breathalysed cycling? You hear stories but I've never heard directly from anyone who was.

you dont get breathalised if your on a pedal cycle

MysticFred

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Gardai must have had nothing better to do as all they did was make him walk home with the bike as they followed behind him.

I'm not one to stand up for the cops but fair play to them for using common sense and giving him a warning.

If they didn't check afterwards to see that he walked then it would have been a waste of time to stop him in the first place.

Making him go to court (in the first instance) is a waste of court's time IMO. If he hoped back on the bike then that's a different matter.

brayblue24

Lumen wrote: »

They were probably trying to save themselves the paperwork from a fatal RTA.

That'd be about it alright

jwshooter

i was on the phone sunday going through a village ,i got the evil eye form a garda in a parked patrol car.

donal_mcg

Here in France they breathalyse you, if you're over you have a 90euro fine, a night in the cells and 2/3 points on your license. I know of 2 people in the last month who have been caught. The velib being introduced here 2 months ago prompted the police to step up targeting people.

p

In copenhagen, you'd be hard push to find a sober person on a bicycle past midnight

Though, quite a few of my friends have has accidents when drunk, thankfully nothing too serious as there's not many cars on the roads at that time.

blorg

Piercemeear wrote: »

Does the same breathalyzer level apply? i.e. is the alcohol limit the same as for a motorised vehicle?

No, the specific limits apply only to drivers of motorised vehicles. There is no specific limit specified for cycling other than you must not be drunk "to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle or cycle." In most cases this will be more drunk than would disqualify you from driving. I don't think there have been significant amendments to this in regard of cyclists:

Road Traffic Act 1961 wrote:

51.—(1) A person shall not, in a public place—

( a ) drive or attempt to drive, or be in charge of, animal-drawn vehicle, or

( b ) drive or attempt to drive a pedal cycle,

while he is under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle or cycle.

Piercemeear

blorg wrote: »

No, the specific limits apply only to drivers of motorised vehicles. There is no specific limit specified for cycling other than you must not be drunk "to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle or cycle." In most cases this will be more drunk than would disqualify you from driving.

This is a revelation. I mean, I've always been vaguely apprehensive about cycling home after a pint or two, knowing that I felt perfectly sober but aware that I'd fail a breath test if it was administered.

morninwood

when i was young and stupid i used to cycle home from parties pretty drunk and got caught twice. after breathalyzing me the gardai put me and the bike in their car, drove me to the police station, called a doc in who took some blood as i was so much over the limit that it was already classed as a criminal offense and had to go to court.
i never held a drivers license in my life but have 14 penalty points in good old germany

loyatemu

that french law seems fairly unjust - penalising your driving license for a cycling offense. what about cyclists who don't drive - there's no equivalent punishment for them. You might as well give penalty points to drunk pedestrians too...

common sense approach here seems about right - if you're obviously drunk and unsteady on the bike, the guards should make you walk. If you're too drunk to walk, then a fine for being drunk and disorderly (or whatever the actual offence is...).

blorg

loyatemu wrote: »

that french law seems fairly unjust - penalising your driving license for a cycling offense. what about cyclists who don't drive - there's no equivalent punishment for them.

The points wait until you get a license and are then applied to it.

cdaly_

Road Traffic Act 1961 wrote:

51.—(1) A person shall not, in a public place—

while he is under the influence of...

Ah! So the ladies can do what they like then?...

munchkin_utd

in germany they are completely anal about drinking and cycling.

The fine can be a months wages if you are over i think 1.6 (milli jobbies?), plus points, or higher fine if you have no licence or a foreign one, but to be fair up to that you can drink cycle and are ok so long as there's no accident, where the normal 0.5 limit is used and THEN they throw the book at you!
The limit is quite high and a couple of litres in the beergarden and you'll still be grand to cycle home.
Then again, with the cycle lanes you only have lampposts and pedestrians to hit, whereas in ireland you are out on the road mixing it with cars trucks and jeeps.

Even drink-walking is prohibited if way way over the limit, as even though you are on foot, you are considered a "participant in traffic" (Verkehrsteilnehmer).
They have a certain limit that they consider as pure ossified, and you shouldnt be let out in public with that amount of drink in you basically! Taxi from door to door is ok though.

If you even speed in a speedboat the fekers will give you points on your driving licence.
Its more of a penalty to a rich hoor than a small fine so maybe not a bad thing.

mcgratheoin

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Even drink-walking is prohibited if way way over the limit, as even though you are on foot, you are considered a "participant in traffic" (Verkehrsteilnehmer).
They have a certain limit that they consider as pure ossified, and you shouldnt be let out in public with that amount of drink in you basically! Taxi from door to door is ok though.

I may have come up with a way to eliminate our national debt! One night handing out tickets in Temple bar and we're back in the black!

concussion

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Happened to a friend of mine in college. The Gardai must have had nothing better to do as all they did was make him walk home with the bike as they followed behind him.

If they took his pedals he'd have to walk and it would have saved them following him the whole way home

tomasrojo

blorg wrote: »

No, the specific limits apply only to drivers of motorised vehicles. There is no specific limit specified for cycling other than you must not be drunk "to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle or cycle." In most cases this will be more drunk than would disqualify you from driving. I don't think there have been significant amendments to this in regard of cyclists:

That's very interesting. I'd always assumed that the limits were the same for drivers and cyclists. So, no updates to drink-driving law as applied to cyclists since 1961?

tulachmhor

Ended up concussed in hospital with a split eyebrow one night while at this craic.
I said never again,but thats just crazy talk.
Haven't gotten as pissed when I know there's a wee bit of pedalling to be done thereafter.
As for the legal side of things.
I dont drive,so any repurcussions are utterly futile.
From an objective standpoint,drunken cycling is seriously stoopid,but its all about me,me,me,so I continue to be an idiot,but not as much of an eejit as I once was.
On the other hand,cycling under the influence of narcotics is where its at.
Just ask Floyd Landis and co.

tulachmhor

tulachmhor wrote: »

On the other hand,cycling under the influence of narcotics is where its at.
Just ask Floyd Landis and co.

Or Albert Hofmann.

tomasrojo

There is statistically a very strong link between serious injury and impairment and cycling while drunk. Not surprising really, but not every thing you'd expect to be true has strong statistical evidence. This does.

(Slightly off-topic maybe; I just happened to be reading about it recently.)

blorg

tomasrojo wrote: »

That's very interesting. I'd always assumed that the limits were the same for drivers and cyclists. So, no updates to drink-driving law as applied to cyclists since 1961?

I haven't trawled through the legislation looking for updates relating to cyclists but I do know that the specific limits, rules on use of breathalysers, etc. only apply to drivers of motorised vehicles. When these things were first introduced they were applied only to drivers of motors. Same deal with speed limits incidentally.

mgmt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkulQvz-efw

We live in a Nanny State.

G1S8

In Poland you gonna lose your driving licence for walking with bicycle while intoxicated and I know it may sound incredible but that's the thruth, that's the law. Few friend of mine lost their licence after like 3 beers when they were fine just worng place wrong time.