DUI in Chicago IL Information
This is America. We have rights. So the natural question is: Can you mow your lawn drunk? Answer: Does your lawnmower have seat, an electric motor & a cup holder for your beer? If yes: Sadly, even in America, with all our freedoms, this a DUI. If no, drink up, just expect to call landscapers later to fix your mess. Driving Under the Influence. DUI. We all know the general scenario. Someone’s had too much to drink on the way to/from/after the bar/party. But what about when you aren’t driving a car. But how about your tractor? What about a segway? Or on boat? Can you get a BUI? (biking while intoxicated)? When is that drunk driving? It depends. Is what you are driving a “motor vehicle”? Illinois law defines a “motor vehicle” as: “[e]very vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, except for vehicles moved solely by human power, motorized wheelchairs, low-speed electric bicycles, and low-speed gas bicycles.”[1] Wasted on your wheelchair? A-O-K. Buzzed on a bike? Cheers. There is no such thing as a BUI. Here’s a helpful list of the things you can and can’t drive drunk:[2]- Bicycle: DRINK UP- NO DUI
- Horse: DRINK UP- NO DUI
- Kayak: DRINK UP- NO DUI
- Electric Wheelchair[3]: DRINK UP- NO DUI
- Low Speed Electric bicycle[4]: DRINK UP- DUI
- Motorized lawn mower:
- Pushing: DRINK UP
- Seated: DUI
- Tractor: DUI
- Boat: DUI [5]
- Snowmobile: DUI[6]
- Four-Wheeler: DUI
- Golf cart: DUI
- Moped[7]: DUI
- Segway: Likely DUI, but no precedent
- Low speed gas bicycles:
- The Illinois Vehicle code defines a “low-speed gas bicycle” as a “2 or 3-wheeled device with fully operable pedals and a gasoline motor of less than one horsepower, whose maximum speed on a paved level surface, when powered solely by such a motor while ridden by an operator who weighs 170 pounds, is less than 20 miles per hour.”
- The question: Is this motor/engine capable of transporting a 170 pound person at 20 mph without the help of gravity or pedaling?[8]
- IF YES: DUI
- IF NO: DRINK UP
- SIMPLE, RIGHT?