Can you get a DWI on scooter? You’ve seen them everywhere: college campuses, city parks, downtown campuses. Nowhere is safe from the invasion of electric scooters taking over the city. While they do function as a relatively easy way to get from one place to another, what started as a new inexpensive travel method has become a real problem downtown.
Evening party-goers have begun using these scooters to get from one bar to another or to get home without driving a car to avoid getting a DWI. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work out so well. These scooters are motor vehicles, and drunk riders can absolutely be charged with a DWI.
This may sound silly, but drunken scootering is a real safety issue downtown. Intoxicated scooterers who weave uncontrollably on the sidewalks early in the morning after a night partying risk crashing into food workers getting ready for the day and early risers heading to work. Inability to pay attention could result in serious injury.
Though the legal level of intoxication is a BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) of 0.08%, humans can begin to feel the effects of alcohol much earlier than that. According to alcohol.org, an American Addiction Centers Resource, judgement begins to be impaired at a blood alcohol level of just 0.02%. By 0.05%, control of small muscles begins to be affected (like those in your eyes), negatively acting on vision and fine motor control. This is bad news on a scooter because of how delicate the motions necessary are to drive. A few inches right or left makes a huge difference when dodging pedestrians and vehicles, and a scooter offers no additional protection in a crash. By 0.08%, the legal limit, even more body functions are compromised: balance, reaction times, focusing on objects, and evading obstacles are made much more difficult.
If you need to get home, make sure you have established a designated driver beforehand. It’s generally safer to stay at one location versus bar hopping, but if you’re going a a further distance from one location to another, ride in a petty cab or use a ride share to ensure you get there safely.
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