Cycling While Intoxicated? Could Be A DUI, Longmont Woman Learns

LONGMONT, CO -- Planning to pedal home after tossing back a few? That's technically illegal, as one Longmont woman learned last Saturday when she was cited for riding a bike while intoxicated in the 1500 block of Nelson Road, according to the city's police blotter. Bicycles are considered to be vehicles under Colorado law, and that means that if you operate one while intoxicated, you could find yourself trying to walk a straight line down the multi-use path.

Regulations on cycling under the influence vary state-by-state. In some cases, you're allowed to do it if you are not on a road. In others, there are no restrictions, and in still others, police are instructed not to enforce the laws on the books. Not so in Colorado — riding a bike while intoxicated is illegal, and can be enforced.

Some cycling advocates push back against such laws, saying that it will encourage more people to get into their cars while they've been drinking. You're generally less likely to cause harm to others on a bike than in a car — though one 2011 crash between a drunken cyclist and a scooter rider prompted enforcement of intoxicated cycling laws in Denver. However, the regulations also protect bike riders themselves: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 22 percent of cyclists killed in 2016 had a blood-alcohol concentration above .08 g/dL.

Colobikelaw.com, an information and advocacy site run by Colorado cyclist and attorney Brad Tucker, offers comprehensive legal and practical advice on the matter for us all:

"As a practical matter, unless you are clearly endangering yourself, others or property, it is unlikely that you would be randomly stopped and given a field sobriety test while riding your bicycle," a 2014 post explains. "This is especially true if you are not acting belligerently, or otherwise bringing unnecessary attention to yourself. Please understand, however, that there is no question that it is a violation of the state DUI laws to ride a bicycle while legally intoxicated. Further, you are quite likely risking your own health or safety, so if you are concerned about whether or not you would be able to safely drive a car, you may want to think twice about jumping on your bike, especially if you intend to share the road with motor vehicles."

Do you like this article? Join the Boulder Patch on Facebook! Stay in touch with the news and events that shape Boulder County. Sign up for your free Patch newsletter here.

Photo credit: Shutterstock