Has anyone ever been charged with drunk while in control of a mountain bike?

a friend of my mum was pulled over while riding her horse (her route home was nearly all off road but with a short section on the road between fields) they charged her with being drunk in charge of a vehicle on a public rd and she lost her driving licence for a year . she was trying to explain that you cannot crash a horse as they are sentient, by trying to ride it into the parked police car (which it obviously wouldnt do) but they were having non of it. as bikes are ‘iron horses’ in the eyes of the law ive always figured they could do the same for bikes. i suppose it depends on the mood the copper is in

Jonah – she cannot lose her licence for that. A horse is not a vehicle

its not my story so i cant tell if its true or just my mum trying to stop me bouncing off the hedges lol

b r – Member
Many, many years ago a neighbours son ended up in (Magistrates) court and got a small fine for riding drunk – can’t remember the circumstances etc, but it can’t have been serious as he was flying jets for the RAF within a couple of years.

They can revoke your RAF Tornado licence?

Was he on a horse?

but then i just found this :-
He was charged under the 1872 Licensing Act, which states that it is an offence to be ‘drunk while in charge on any highway or other public place, of any carriage, horse or steam engine’.
He was not breathalysed when stopped by the police, as the 134-year-old law doesn’t mention anything about breathalysers.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/19250-drunk-in-charge-of-a-horse#ixzz16V8OoceA

In the New Forest its compulsory to be drunk when mountain biking, just to liven things up a bit. They also provide an excellent taxi service home with flashy lights, and tuck you up in bed too!

I still haven’t learnt a lesson though, broke my collarbone this year too, same day, same place, same cider d’oh!

Thats the one jonah.

One of our lot was stopped on christmas eve after 6 double jd and cokes. He amazingly passed the breath test.. (he’d ridden through a red light)

they just took one look and spotted all the night vision gear and million lumen lights and just told him and i quote “don’t be a ****”

Angry – they can’t breathalyse you on a bike and unless it was a LONG time after he had consumed them, he’d not pass after 6 JD and cokes – I think he may have been building up the story somewhat for effect. Because only the cool kids get caught drink cycling…

Cycling while under the influence is a bit daft anyway, considering the damage and injury you can still cause on a bike I don’t see why it’s viewed here so lightly. Mind you, I suppose drink driving was many moons ago before people realised it was stupid.

When I was growing up in West Wales, my father (who’s completely blind) and his best mate (who’s only got one eye) used to get shitfaced down the local which was 2 miles away and then cycle home on a tandem.
Quality stuff. Not exactly relevant to the thread but thought I’d share and yes my father was the stoker!

I was stopped once as a nipper (well 14yrs old) cycling home from a party at about 2am. I was actually stoned and tripping but the rozzers thought I was drunk and took me and my bike home. I vaguely recall threats of never being allowed to drive etc. but it was 18 years ago so my memory is sketchy.
Fortunately, the accusation of being drunk in charge of bicycle was far better than real truth, so the thrashing I got should have been worse!

Coffeeking. Are you really likely to damage anyone but yourself?

Ok you could cause a car to swerve and go thru a bus queue but at 2 am on back roads of road cycle paths?

They were on a tandem, dressed as a gorrilla and captain hook

Frankly, if I saw that I’d probably breathalyse myself first.

coffeeking, where i live its the drunk pedestrians that damage lots of stuff/people, maybe you advocate banning alcohol altogether?

This one comes up every year and..usual load of tosh posted in response again 😆

Here’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the..

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.

You will find that your average copper will be totally ignorant of the law however and still insist you can be done for ‘drunk in charge’ 🙂

My best one:
Riding the wrong way around Organge Grove (centre of Bath) I fall off in front of a white van.. with the words ‘POLICE’ across the front. 8 coppers get out. Luckily the Sgt was the bloke who I bought the bike from a few months earlier. They stuck me and the bike in the back and gave me a lift home 🙂

Erm… ❓

(v) There is no offence of ‘being in charge’ of a cycle under the Road Traffic Acts, but such conduct may well be anoffence 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.

Ahh, the old ‘Licensing Act 1872’ note the date.. also applies to sheep and cattle and just plain old ‘drunk’

Yes, as always there’s some daft old law, and I no doubt some case law but it’s old and was in effect superseded by RTA 1980.

A guy I worked with years ago got done, but he did fall off right outside the police station.

Coffeeking. Are you really likely to damage anyone but yourself?

Yes

Ok you could cause a car to swerve and go thru a bus queue but at 2 am on back roads of road cycle paths?

And there you have it. I’ve spent the last 3 years dodging drunk, often light-less idiots on bikes – they’re a bloody menace. Totally unpredictable and for any driver they’re an unpleasant hazard. And people don’t just get drunk at 2am FWIW – it happens right through the afternoon and evening.

There’s just no excuse. I’ve ridden after 2 pints in the afternoon and I was a danger to everyone around, not just myself. It was a wakeup call and I’ve never done it since. Being on the road makes you a danger, not the vehicle you’re using. My opinion would be grow up and take the sensible option to get home.

A few years ago I got steaming with my mate (Jack Daniels for most of the evening) then my sis text me and asked if I wanted to pop in on my way home for a bit. Got more steaming.

Had my bike with me so took the woodland path between her house and my parents, someone had built jumps in them. It wasn’t till I was flying through the air did I wonder where they got the dirt to build the jumps……..from the massive hole right behind them.

Managed to clear them so now I only ride drunk……ok, that’s a lie, but it did help my fear issues quite a bit

2 pints and you couldn’t ride a bike safely? Oh dear.

so prey tell me how many drunk cyclists damage other people?

Analogue Andy why would an 1872 Act be referred to in a 1988 Act if the 1872 Act was “superceded” (you mean repealed”?) by a 1980 Act?

Durrrrrrr…..

cynic-al – Member
Analogue Andy why would an 1872 Act be referred to in a 1988 Act if the 1872 Act was “superceded” (you mean repealed”?) by a 1980 Act?

Durrrrrrr…..

AnalogueAndy – Member
This one comes up every year and..usual load of tosh posted in response again

Here’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the..

I take back everything I said earlier. It appears some poor sod has indeed been done under the 1872 so case law exists and no it wasn’t repealed as such by the RTA – just sometimes more up-to-date law will take precendence

Corkery v Carpenter (1951). In 1951 Shane Corkery was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment for being drunk in charge of a bicycle in public. At about 2.45 p.m. on 18 January 1950, the defendant was drunk and was pushing his pedal bicycle along Broad Street in Ilfracombe. He was subsequently charged under section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872 with being drunk in charge of a carriage. The 1872 Act made no actual reference to bicycles. The court elected to use the mischief rule to decide the matter. The purpose of the Act was to prevent people from using any form of transport on a public highway whilst in a state of intoxication. The bicycle was clearly a form of transport and therefore the user was correctly charged.

GET IN!!!!

😛

damn that mischief rule!

You can lose your license BUT this has not been tested in the supreme court AND is rarely used by the police. Furthermore I am fairly certain they cannot make you take a breathalyzer or prove you are sober (or otherwise) by taking some sort of test IE walking in a straight line. They certainly can’t ask you to cycle your bike as part of the test as that would be like asking you to drive a car as test of your inebriation. See below
(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.

Note the part of the law above “no power to require you to take a test”…..I suspect that most people if not all have lost there license because they were coned into taken a breathalyzer by the police. I am nearly always over the limit on the way home from the pub as it is 11 miles away I am not going to have 2 pints besides they always have 6 real ales on. Although I regularly end up in a ditch I don’t worry to much about the police as I very very rarely see any cars on the way home, one at most. All the way home is on rural lincolnshire Wolds back roads I only cross A roads and even they rarely have traffic on them at 1 or 2 am. Also I haven’t got a license as I am barred for medical reasons. And in reference to coffeekings remarks above
And there you have it. I’ve spent the last 3 years dodging drunk, often light-less idiots on bikes – they’re a bloody menace. Totally unpredictable and for any driver they’re an unpleasant hazard. And people don’t just get drunk at 2am FWIW – it happens right through the afternoon and evening.
TO COFFEEKING
I have never heard such blatant lies, yes people on cycles do get drunk and occasionally are hazard to other road users and nobody should brag about IT BUT IT IS AN OUT AND OUT LIE TO SUGGEST THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS COMING ACCROSS DRUNK CYCLISTS after all there aren’t even a lot of cyclist in the first place never mind on the roads. On top of that most cyclist ride there bikes once a week (if the weathers nice) and are not like me totally depend on my bicycles (3 bicycles and 2 trailers). Not everyone can get taxi, or a bus for that matter (only 2 a week where I live)So give up the pathetic and obvious lies coffeeking PS do you actually own bicycle????

coffeeking i would just stay out of the pub if thats the case.

To be fair does coffeeking not live in Glasgow?

Two pints of what, red wine 😯

I hurt my hip quite badly when pished on my bike tend to be very cautious now when drinking amd riding.

It it just me or does two or three pints of real ale make you want to pedal faster?

I used to bike home most Saturday nights from the pub and for some reason it was always head down flat out stuff (or seemed like it anyway) 😆

Yeah I find that, when I had a bad back I used to get drunk to deal with the pain, went a lot faster when I was drunk.

Still you need to be conscious of how much you’re drinking and try not to be out of control.

No grief with the police but i got a verbal warning from work one year when we all bundled over the local pub on Xmas eve and got bladdered. Everyone else got cabs home but i had my reasonably expensive mountain bike there and didnt fancy leaving it all over the hols so i jumped the fence unchained it, threw it (gently) back over the fence and proceeded to…well I dont quite know but somehow I got home battered and bruised. When I went back about 10 days later I got a flaming of the manager as pinkertons security were called out when our camera system picked me up “nicking” my bike back.

If you had left it, would pinkertons have protected it, or would you have returned to find a frame and not much else, if that at all?