Personally, I would like to see Bicycling While Impaired legalized.

Additionally, my opinion is that driving Low-Speed Electric Vehicles while impaired would be a great transportation alternative for an impaired individual, if made legal.

The focus on traffic safety has primarily been targetted at operating while impaired (drunk driving). That only accounts for 1/3rd of traffic fatalities. How about the other 2/3rds of the traffic fatalities?

Seems to me that the size of the vehicles, and the speed at which we drive them, are the real threats to traffic safety.

Thus, Low-Speed Electric Vehicles are a great alternative. They increase all traffic safety, provide a legal transporation alternative for an impaired invididual, reduce dependence on oil, and provides a jumpstart for a new market.

Separately, based on my research:

1) Bicycling While Impaired is subject to the same penalties as Driving While Impaired.

2) A Motorized Bicycle may still be classified as a Bicycle providing it is not gas-powered, does not exceed 25 mph, and is pedal-assisted.

Thank you,

Chad

“5.17 – Bicyclists
In Florida, the bicycle is legally defined as a vehicle. Bicyclists using a public roadway are considered operators of motor vehicles and are responsible for observing traffic laws. Bicyclists may generally operate legally on sidewalks (except by local ordinance). They may operate in either direction, though riding against the flow of traffic on the adjacent roadway places them where motorists are not expecting traffic. Generally, sidewalk bicycling is not recommended, due to the usual increase in conflicts with bicycles and motor vehicles at driveways and intersections.

5.17.1 – Bike Lanes at Intersections
Slow down, look for and yield to any bicyclists in the bike lane. Signal your turn prior to crossing through the bike lane at the dashed striping. Yield to any bicyclist. Complete the turn from the designated right turn lane. If there is no right turn lane, after first checking to make sure that no bicyclists are present, you may merge into the bike lane at approaches to the intersection or driveway.

5.17.2 – Sharing the Road with a Bicycle
• Allow a minimum of three feet of clearance when passing a cyclist and reduce your speed. On a two lane road, time your pass to not be next to the bicyclist at the same time as oncoming traffic is at the same location.
• At night, avoid using high beam headlights when a cyclist is approaching. The cyclist could be temporarily blinded.
• Do not follow a cyclist closely. If you are too close and the cyclist must slow suddenly in an emergency, you could run them over. Bicyclists are entitled to move away from the right side of a lane when that lane is too narrow to safely share with a motor vehicle. Most travel lanes in Florida range from 10’ to 12’ wide and guidance indicates that a 14’ lane is a width that allows safe sharing with most
motor vehicles. Wet roads impair a bicyclist’s ability to brake and maneuver. Potholes or railroad tracks often require bicyclists to change positions within their lane. When railroad tracks are skewed, the bicyclist must change directions in order to cross over the tracks at a ninety- degree angle or risk a fall.”

As I mentioned Arizona’s manual is silent in this area.

Tabby — thanks for you comment. I do like what you have in the FL manual, it is direct and strong. But i must contradict you, the Arizona Manual is not entirely silent, e.g.

Section 4: Sharing the Road with Other Vehicles Sharing the Road with a Bike
Bicyclists must obey the same traffic laws as drivers of vehicles, and they have the
right-of-way under the same conditions as motorists…

If Arizona would follow suite, it would remove this legal difficulty.

…When a bicyclist is cited for an infraction, the offense can end up on a driver’s license, said Jan Mendoza, a DMV spokeswoman.

“However, these citations are typically removed after it’s determined the infraction did not involve a motor vehicle,” she said. “No points are assigned for these violations. …

“If a person is cited for bicycling DUI, the arrest or citation goes on a person’s driving record for three years but it is placed there without any sanctions or points against the person’s driver’s license.”

Now, David, if the cited bicyclist didn’t have a driver’s license, like you talked about, an “X number” would be created; the record would be retained. The information would flow onto any new driver’s license.

By the way …

Tully Lehman – a spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California said that your auto rates might go up with a drunk-while-bicycling citation.

Or – if you city does outlaw biking on the sidewalk, wouldn’t it be much better to be cited for this than a DUI?

The problem is nothing is ever as clear as you suggest. Take what would seem to be an easy one, the license points issue, you say:

“They also said that your driver’s license is a license to operate motorized vehicles and has nothing to do with operating a bike… the penalty is a ticket and not points added to your drivers license”

Hmmm. well, this is in direct contradiction to what an MVD spokesperson said ON THE RECORD. See here. And MVD is the organization that keeps track of all points in Arizona. It may well be true that the city court in Tucson doesn’t transmit bicyclist’s points data to MVD, but that’s not really saying the same thing, is it?

The problem is that each court and jurisdiction has enormous leeway… getting a straight answer out of any one of them is difficult, magnify this by 100 or so for the State of Arizona (cities, towns, counties; who all have independent law enforcement). So I am told first hand (by the Court) that Scottsdale will ticket & convict for “BUI”, and Tempe (like what you found in the city of Tucson) will not. It’s more a matter of policy.
So, I ride (not drunk, thankyou very much!) regularly in the Cities of Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler, and the County of Maricopa; less regularly in Scottsdale, Gilbert.

Another example: I can’t get a straight answer out of the city of Tempe on how they handle motorized bicycles — two city officials say two different things.

They have never charged anyone in Tucson with DUI that was on an bicycle. They also said that your driver’s license is a license to operate motorized vehicles and has nothing to do with operating a bike. So while yes you have to obey street laws, the penalty is a ticket and not points added to your drivers license.

Call the prosecutor and get the facts for yourself from the people that know! Just cause ya’ll heard it on that there Internet don’t mean it’s true