.08 BUT YOUR LAWN LOOKS GREAT – WHAT CAN & CAN’T YOU DRIVE DRUNK?

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?

  Keep in mind that these rules don’t apply only to being drunk & driving, if your license is suspended or revoked for a Illinois DUI and you are operating any of the above “motor vehicles,” with the exception of a boat, on a “highway,” you can and will be arrested for driving while license revoked, drunk or not.   In Illinois, unlike some other states, you can get a DUI on private property. That means that in Illinois you can’t plow your fields plowed. Nor can you drink and drive in your driveway. There is no private property defense for DUI in Illinois.^[9]   Drinking & driving is no joke. Neither is mowing your lawn drunk. Nobody wants you to do either, certainly not your neighbors, whether or not its legal. But if you’re going to drive anything drunk, get a lawyer. Odds are you’re going to need one. At Robert Callahan & Associates, we are criminal defense lawyers in Chicago here to help. ^[1] 625 ILCS 5/1-146. ^[2] PLEASE NOTE: even if you cannot be charged with DUI, if you engage in these activities you risk other charges, including, but not limited to: Public Intoxication & Disorderly Conduct. ^[3] Illinois law defines an electric wheelchair as: “Motorized wheelchair.Any self-propelled vehicle, including a three-wheeled vehicle, designed for and used by a person with disabilities, that is incapable of a speed in excess of 8 miles per hour on level ground.” 625 ILCS 5/1-148.3. ^[4] A bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts that meets the requirements of one of the following classes: (a) "Class 1 low-speed electric bicycle" means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 20 miles per hour. (b) "Class 2 low-speed electric bicycle" means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 20 miles per hour. (c) "Class 3 low-speed electric bicycle" means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 28 miles per hour. A "low-speed electric bicycle" is not a moped or a motor driven cycle.   ^[5] 625 ILCS 45/5-16. ^[6] 625 ILCS 40/5-7. ^[7] A moped is a motor-driven cycle, with or without optional power derived from manually operated pedals, whose speed attainable in one mile is at least 20 mph but not greater than 30 mph, and is equipped with a motor that produces 2 brake horsepower or less. If an internal combustion engine is used, the displacement shall not exceed 50 cubic centimeter displacement and the power drive system shall not require the operator to shift gears. ^[8] People v. Plank, 2018 IL 122202. ^[9] The opposite is true for a Summary Suspension and Driving While License Revoked/Suspended. For both, the person must be on a “public highway.”