Don’t Booze and Bike

On a recent trip to Campus Billiards, my friends and I were having some brews and watching a Dodgers game. As we went outside to have a smoke, I saw a middle-aged man—clearly hammered—get on his bicycle and swerve his way out of the parking lot. He almost tasted concrete a few times dodging parked cars, bushes and parking blocks.

 

After we had a good laugh at the spectacle, a friend asked if it is possible to get a DUI on a bike. My answer was simple, “No, because you’re not driving a vehicle!” Well, it turns out I was wrong: It’s a good thing I skateboard.

 

A man was found entangled in his bicycle, bleeding from his head and unconscious in the right lane of Valley View Street, according to Sgt. Tom Bruce, Cypress Police Department’s public information officer.

 

At approximately 2:44 p.m. Oct. 6, a 911 call was made about the unconscious man on the side of Valley View Street. Around 3:09 p.m. the man was taken to UCI medical center by an ambulance. “He went critical trauma to UCI,” said Bruce. His condition was later upgraded to stable the same day. This individual wasn’t as lucky as the man I saw swerving out of the billiards’ parking lot.

 

There was one fire truck, five police cruisers, one motorcycle officer and the Watch Commander on-scene. Investigators were unsure at first if it was a hit-and-run or just a bicycle accident. According to Bruce, there were no witnesses that came forth. “We’re flying blind on this one,” said Bruce.

 

The bicycle did not appear to have significant damage to the frame or rims; although, there was a bicycle light in the street.

The injured man was in his 30’s and is not a Cypress College Student, according to Bruce. The injured individual was found approximately 200 yards from the west side of campus, in front of the old railroad tracks. A man driving by the scene saw the injured bicyclist, called for aid and pulled him onto the sidewalk. The man wishes to remain anonymous.

 

Carol Kluck saw the individual before the ambulance came. According to Kluck, the man was not wearing a helmet, had a pool of blood around his head, and was unconscious. Kluck said that other bystanders were able to identify him by his medical card hanging around his neck.

 

Jamie Hanks, who lives on Valley View St. said, “I heard a loud commotion and ran outside.” Hanks later realized the extent of the problem; she had her kids go inside and do homework.

 

Divergence was able to contact Bruce for more details. Bruce said that “The individual was intoxicated.” When questioned if it was alcohol, Bruce said, “More than likely.” Bruce is almost 100 percent sure there was no vehicle involved; it was due to the intoxication of the individual.

 

An email sent by Bruce read, “The case will be forwarded to the DA’s office for review. It’s unknown what the D.A. will do, if they will file the case or not.  DUI on a bicycle is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail.  If convicted he will likely be ordered to DUI classes and ordered to pay a fine.  This is the first such collision this year and is not very common.”

 

My reaction: What the hell, DUI on a bike? Well, here’s the deal, if an individual gets blasted and bikes it instead of drinking and driving it, they can fall to penal code section 21200.

 

“Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division, including, but not limited to, provisions concerning driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs,” reads the section.

 

Basically, that means you can and possibly will get charged with a DUI on a bike. Maybe they should create a separate. law to clarify confusion: RUI (Riding Under the Influence). If someone is lucky enough to dodge that bullet, then they still may be a lucky winner of section 21200.5.

 

Students should keep in mind that if they are not prosecuted for a DUI on a bike, they will be charged under California penal code section 21200.5.

 

According to the California DMV website, the section reads “…it is unlawful for any person to ride a bicycle upon a highway while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug.” It continues to read, “…a conviction of a violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250).”

 

Individuals that commit under-age (people under 21)  drinking and drug use misdemeanors are also subject to article 13202.5  “…committed while the person was under the age of 21 years, but 13 years of age or older, the court shall suspend the person’s driving privilege for one year,” reads the article.

What about people who don’t have a license? They will get their license suspended for 1 year the day they are legally able to drive; basically once they acquire their license, it gets suspended. Talk about a disappointment at the local DMV.

 

In general, if an individual rides a bicycle drunk and gets stopped by the police, they are more than likely to get the $250 fine. If the District Attorney files a DUI charge, which section 21200 enables the D.A. to do, the individual will get the same punishment they would as swerving down the 405, drunk, in a Mac truck. Finally, individuals under 21 years of age face the same articles on top of the 1 year license suspension.

 

Simply, it is safer to wet your whiskers and walk opposed to boozing and biking. It will prevent a possible DUI charge on a bike and prevent injury to both body and pride.

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For more information regarding driving, bicycle and traffic laws, visit www.dmv.ca.gov