…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

azbikelaw adds: Interesting you mention the sitting in a parked car thing — there is a very recent AZ Supreme Court ruling that supposedly clarifies the whole “being in actual physical control” phrase which has been causing confusion (this is as far as i can see, unrelated to bicycles).