I\’m curious whether you\’ve thought even just a little about what such a statement reveals about the kind of person you are. If you have some intelligence, which despite your apparent ability to read and write….seems to be of dubious quality, and have a sense of responsibility that leads you to not do things that will needlessly injure innocent people, you should not even need a deterrent to not drink and drive, drink and bike, or be irresponsibly drunk in public.

It seems some people do need a deterrent; losing their license to drive, jail, prison, and so forth. The bike has been a fall-back option for some drunks, but if they also can\’t use that means of transportation to get around without hurting someone, a deterrent is required.

Some measure, a deterrent such as DUI and BUI laws have to be in place to get people to understand that they have to avoid doing things that will allow their personal indulgences to needlessly injure other people. Either that, or they have to be secured away from the general public where they can\’t hurt anyone.

Anti, comment #48, anyone with your particular viewpoint and inclination towards getting around while drunk or whatever, would be doing everyone a big favor by taking a serious reality check.

To those that say biking under the influence should be a crime, I would say you need to go live in Britain where everything is over regulated and no one can do anything without the approval of the gov. The nanny state WILL protect you! But we shouldn\’t have to here. The fact that your legislature even had the time to DEBATE this law let alone pass it just shows how little else you have to worry about. Come look at Baltimore where the drug use, general crime, and yes MURDER rates are 10x yours. You suppose they even think about BUI here? Yea right.

As bike friendly as Portland is I can\’t believe that some of you would make the claim that given the choice more people wouldn\’t bike under the influence than drive under the influence. I know if it was me and the penalties are the same then I\’m taking the car every time… Would you rather have drunks on bikes or in cars? BUI in and of itself should not be a crime. They should aggressively enforce the rules of the road however. Ticket unsafe operators for their actions or otherwise hold them liable. If the cyclist causes an accident or injury then BY ALL MEANS charge them with disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment, hell even vehicular manslaughter if they kill someone. By enacting a BUI law you give no incentive for a drunk to do the right thing, which is obviously not drive.

What about BUI while legally carrying concealed (a gun)
\\Will be swerving down Albermarle with a glock on my StumpJumper soon enough.
\\Cant change my mind hippy.

Now, if you want to argue that \”drunk walking\” hasn\’t been outlawed, you are mistaken. Have you ever heard of \”public drunkenness\”?

I agree, however, with everything you said in your second paragraph.

Although, I do think drunk bicycling should be a crime. Just not on par with drunk driving. I think the issue is speed, at 3 mph, drunk pedestrians aren\’t always predictable, but it is easy for other people [peds, bikes, cars] to dodge/stop for/etc them. Drunk bicyclist can do 20 mph, so they are harder to avoid…

MILWAUKEE — A bicyclist shot a motorist after the man\’s car nearly hit the bike on Friday night, police said.
The 28-year-old driver of the car stopped to check on the bicyclist, who had fallen to the pavement around 10:45 p.m., police said.

The bicyclist got up, fired three shots and hit the driver once in the shoulder, police said.

http://www.startribune.com/484/story/1439644.html

Please tell us about that incident, rixter.

Your argument is false. Cyclists have killed pedestrians, other cyclists, and motorists.

That said, I don\’t think it makes sense to have the same DUI penalties that apply to motorists apply to cyclists. Other states have much more sensible approaches to BUI.

The fact is though, drunk cyclists have the potential to inflict a lot of damage to more than themselves. They can run into pedestrians, and they can be a factor in collisions involving multiple motor vehicles on public streets.

DUI while bicycling should carry significantly deterrent penalties.

Let me ask you this, is a cyclist with too many beers in his belly as dangerous to the public as a drunken fratboy in a 3 ton SUV? Should the punishment be the same?

If I recall correctly, DUII laws were reformed as a result of people losing loved ones to drunken drivers. Now those same reforms are being used against cyclists who can do little or no physical harm against others.

Was MADD mad at cyclists?