Cycling and Drunk Driving in Florida

If you love to ride your bicycle and you also like to have a drink or two, then you should treat your bicycle as if it was your car when it comes to the law in Florida because you can be charged with DUI for riding your bike.

If you are stopped for drunk driving on a cycle in Florida, you can legally refuse to submit yourself to an alcohol test. Take note that the state could not argue if the defendant refused to take a breath analyzer test. The reason is that the implied consent law is only applicable to motor vehicles and not bicycles.

In so far as recent conviction of DUI cycling, there has been a criminal case in the state when a defendant was stopped for a suspected DUI and then arrested for riding his bicycle while under the influence of alcohol. This was the third conviction for him and his earlier DUI conviction was made within 10 years. A third DUI conviction in Florida, if taken within ten years, results in suspension of the driver’s license for a minimum of 10 years.

In the case presented, the defendant did not contest the DUI charge, but his criminal defense attorney made an appeal for the 10 years suspension of the license of his client. The argument of the lawyer rested on stating that this suspension did not apply to cyclists. The Florida court, however, did rule that the word “driver” as referred to in Florida DUI laws means anyone who is in physical control of any form of vehicle on a road. The term “vehicle” has a broad definition but it generally means that any device that is used by a person as a means of transportation. The definitions cover bicycle rider under Florida DUI laws.

To summarize everything, you can also be considered under the influence while riding a bicycle. There had been a case of bicycle DUI in the state in the 1980s. Since then, there have been DUI cases involving cyclists and many of them resulted in charges and prosecutions.

If you are a cyclist in Florida, you can avoid DUI by not drinking alcohol if you intend to go out for a ride. Florida courts prosecute bicycle DUI like other drivers of motorized vehicle. If you face a bicycle DUI, it is important that you talk to a DUI defense lawyer as soon as possible because this is a serious criminal offense.