State OK's Drunken Bicycling and Horseback Riding

[matcom]

<snip>

PIERRE, S.D. -- State lawmakers decided Wednesday that it's better to have drunks on horses and bicycles instead of behind the wheel of a car.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill 6-1 that will exempt horses and bikes from drunken driving laws, meaning intoxicated people who either pedal or saddle up to get home cannot be arrested for drunken driving.

Sen. Lee Schoenbeck said it will make the roads safer for other motorists.

"If I have to choose ... a problem drunk with 1,500 pound or 2,000 pounds of metal coming at 50 miles an hour or a two-wheel Schwinn, I'm going to win and my family is going to win," he said. "I'd much rather have a drunk on the bike."

A former lawman, Sen. Gene Abdallah, agreed.

"I can't believe that a horse is going to intentionally run into anything," Abdallah said. "This is a good avenue to get some people home."

Prosecutors opposed the bill. Chuck Schroyer, lobbyist for the State's Attorneys Association, said there have been arrests in several counties for riding horses while intoxicated.

In one instance, a drunken rider passed out and his horse was struck by a car, injuring several people, Schroyer said.

"There are people that are injured that are in control of these instruments," he said. "This does happen in the real world."

Legislators, however, said prosecutors still can charge drunken riders on horses and bicycles. Rather than drunken driving, they can be charged with disorderly conduct, it was suggested. .

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/6678656/detail.html

[Benfea]

1. I agree with their decision -NT

[underpants]

2. Not having ever been to South (or East) Dakota let me say this

I suspect that it is a LONG way between things there. Quite a bike ride sober let alone drunk.

[Deja Q]

3. Good. So car drivers won't be held responsible when

the shithead drunkie starts unexpectedly swerving all around.

Get rid of the garbage and then don't get blamed for doing the ridding.

[taterguy]

4. shitheads have families too

It bothers me that you sound so gleeful at the prospect of inflicting bodily harm on a drunken cyclist. Maybe they're a generally decent person who's just having a bad night. Regardless they probably have parents, siblings and maybe a spouse and kids that would miss them. Wouldn't it be less of a hassle to just avoid them or better yet pull over and offer to help them?

[sasquatch]

5. I think they should get a medal

For thining out the gene pool.

[taterguy]

6. People who complain about the gene pool should be able to spell

Just saying . . . :)

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

7. I can see it now

some drunk person will be on a horse going the wrong way on the interstate during rush hour !!

[applegrove]

8. NS man who was arrested after riding his horse through a drive-through

Nova Scotia's 'Coffee Cowboy' to stand trial
Last Updated Fri, 22 Jul 2005 18:56:39 EDT
CBC News


"A Nova Scotia man who was arrested after riding his horse through a coffee shop drive-thru will stand trial after withdrawing his guilty plea.

Robert Chetwynd, who made headlines as "The Coffee Cowboy," was charged in August 2003 after an incident at a Tim Hortons drive-thru in Barrington Passage, N.S.

The charges include breach of probation, uttering threats, resisting arrest, cruelty to animals and Motor Vehicle Act violations.

....SKIP

The lobster fisherman and part-time carpenter has maintained that his horse was his only form of transportation after he had his driver's licence suspended following an impaired driving conviction.

....SNIP"

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/07/22/Cowboy-coffee-050722.html

since then


"*He’s been in an out of courts for a multitude of false & trumped-up charges.
*His horse, Dillon, has been kidnapped by the law and he goes to court January 19th 2006 to get him back.
*He was banned from Tim Horton’s and was having his coffee smuggled to him every morning but now is welcomed with open arms.
*He protested Tim Horton's lack of hitching post, citing an 1800's statute, AND THEY PUT ONE IN!

.....SKIP

*Their has been a CRAZE across Canada at Tim Horton’s Drive Thru’s with people ordering a JELLOHEAD DONUT.

....SNIP"

http://jellohead.com/

[Lisa]

11. didn't Timmy's have a commercial bragging about that hitching post ...

... a while back, or am I thinking of a different location (but the same company)?

[Redstone]

9. It's a good idea. Especially the horse part, because most people's horses

probably know the way home and will get the rider there without much input.

And I think the probability of a "drunk riding his horse the wrong way on the Interstate" is not exactly going to be more likely just because of this law. Anyone who wants to get that drunk and stupid is going to whether it's legal or not.

That's a ridiculous contention. People drive their CARS the wrong way when they're drnk, and driving a car drunk is illegal.

Redstone

[applegrove]

13. I think it is really dangerous. You could injure yourself if you fall off.

Plus - horses can be stupid - and one may put its life in danger (going too fast at an intersection) if the rider tells it to. Horses know how to travel - but they don't think ahead. And neither do drunks.

[CAcyclist]

10. It's illegal to be drunk in public

in most states - that means walking, standing, whatever - not allowed if you are drunk.

Drunk bicyclists are a danger to other cyclists and to pedestrians and could conceiveably endanger a motorist if the driver swerves to avoid them and flips over (say, a patch of ice). A horse out of control of its rider because the rider is drunk is a distinct danger - horses don't know not to run into traffic and a horse weighs 800-1200 lbs and could easily kill someone in a car if a car runs into it.

[taterguy]

12. In my state . . .

Mere intoxication isn't illegal. You have to be drunk and disorderly. Drunken bike riding is stupid and puts other people at a slight risk. I can say that for a lot of legal activities.