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| This bicycle was parked outside the Town Bar |
I was looking up the Michigan law on bicycles and you won't believe what I read.
http://www.lmb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=38 if you read #22 of this link it says: " 22. Can you be charged with a DUI while riding a bicycle? No. Although it would be dangerous to ride a bicycle while intoxicated, a bicycle is not a motor vehicle according to the Michigan Vehicle Code. DUI only applies to motor vehicles. Other ordinances may apply however, such as being intoxicated or as a danger to oneself or another." Also you cannot get points added to your drivers license since a bicycle is not a motor vehicle. I guess there is no way to keep you off a bicycle if you like to drive drunk like they do with cars. The law should keep repeated drunk bicyclers off the streets for the very fact that bikes share the streets with cars and have to follow most of the traffic laws. A motorist can get killed trying to avoid hitting a drunk bicyclist and the bicyclist can hurt or kill pedestrians since his reaction time is slowed down considerably. I have seen a bicyclist on Francis Street ride about 10 feet and fall over and get back on his bike and crash again another 10 to 15 feet later. I'm saying if we as bicyclers want to have many of the rights and priviledges as motorists, then we should follow the same rules as not riding drunk. One good law is the requirement that to sell a bicycle, it must have all the proper reflectors on it. At least at night if a car's lights shine on those bike reflectors, the driver will see you. This is Jimio saying *Ride for Fun* or *Ride to Work* but dont ride drunk but drink responsibly and ride under the drunk limit just as with a car, because I want all riders to be able to ride again the next day.
What I am finding interesting is that many police officers don't even know the bicycling laws very well!
ReplyDeleteYes, many Officers don't really look for bicyclers breaking the law. I'm not sure if they know the bikes are or that they are more preoccupied with looking for car offenders. I have found numerous instances of bicyclers riding on the wrong side of the street and without lights at night. I think mainly that bikes are so few on the roads that it's probably not worth the officers time to stop them and I think its actually a good thing for many who ride bikes as a sole means of transportation and they could not afford a traffic citation any way.
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