OregonDUI^.08

Yes, it's true: you can get a DUI for riding your bike drunk. Sometimes called "Cycling under the influence" or "Pedaling under the influence", prosecutors just tend to call it a PUI ("poo-ee"). Don't confuse this for the BUI -- that acronym is reserved for boating under the influence.

PUI charges are indeed relatively rare in Oregon. In fact, I would be very surprised to see PUI charges brought outside of Multnomah County, if for no other reason than most Oregonians don't bike as much as Portlanders.

It's important to know that there is not a seperate crime called PUI or anything of the sorts. The official charge will still be a Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants charge because it is illegal to drive a "vehicle" under the influence and a bike counts as a vehicle.

I have mixed feelings about Pedaling under the Influence. On the one hand, I would much rather see people biking around on a night of drinking than driving around. One simple reason is that, illegal or not, you are far less likely to get in any sort of trouble for biking under the influence. Most cops wouldn't give you a second glance if you were on a bike. Another issue is safety. Generally speaking, if you're drunk and crash your bike, the only person who is going to be hurt is you. Generally speaking.

The counter argument is that biking drunk can be an indirect cause of some serious calamity. A drunk biker who ignores a traffic law could easily be the cause of an accident that he or she is not directly involved in. A car that swerves to avoid such a biker could end up hitting another car or a pedestrian.

On balance though, if more people rode their bikes drunk then we would probably have a lot fewer alcohol-related traffic accidents. I think that there should be a law written specifically to deal with PUI -- one where we set the allowed BAC to a much higher level. The .08 standard is a trifiling standard as it stands. Two hardy drinks can get you there, and who are we kidding? People regularly, routinely drink more than that before hopping on their bikes. A .16 (pretty drunk now) standard is probably more reasonable for a biker.

Sadly, the consequences of a PUI are no different than a DUI, right down to losing your license to drive. Thankfully, the Oregon Diversion program exists to help people get their freebie. Just don't have a commercial driver's license or you're screwed.

-DJD (JD)