ASK A BACKWOODS SOUTHERN LAWYER
One day a little boy and girl were playing in the back yard when the boy pulled down his pants and said, “I have something you don’t have.” The
little girl pulled down her pants and said, “With one of these I can get all of those that I want.”
The question for this month is “Can I get a DUI for operating a bicycle while under the influence?”
The answer is unequivocally yes. Bicyclists are bound by the same uniform rules of the road that applies to any operator of a vehicle. I am sure
that will come as a huge surprise to those of you who seem to think that stop signs actually read stop (unless you are on a bicycle). The bicycle
friendly atmosphere of Tybee, along with a number of controlled and uncontrolled intersections, makes it indeed surprising there haven’t already been
numerous automobile/bicycle collisions. That is probably due to the fact that most automobile drivers know that bicyclists tend to run stop signs and
therefore slow down to a complete stop at every intersection even if they have the right of way.
Even though the answer to the question about operating a bicycle while intoxicated is abundantly clear, realistically it is doubtful you would get such
a citation unless you are clearly in the wrong and involved in an accident causing property damage or personal injury. That is simply not a citation most
police officers would want to issue and cops really do want to protect citizens from injury and in some type of bicycle accident it is almost always the
cyclist, and only the cyclist, who is injured. Obviously bicycle/pedestrian collisions are of a different caliber, but if you stay off the sidewalk (as the law
says you are supposed to do) the chance of one of those is pretty slim.
Using a bicycle to get around downtown Tybee certainly helps avoid the inherent traffic and parking problems and probably reduces the chance that
you could end the night with a DUI. It is not, however, a risk-free endeavor.
I have a friend who owns a condo near the lighthouse. He is richer than two feet up a bull’s behind and just as cheap (it’s amazing how those two
characteristics seem to go together isn’t it?). He decided the solution to his problem was to buy a bicycle and use it instead of paying for a $3.00 cab
ride. He never realized how a little too much alcohol can actually empower an immobile street sign to suddenly move. Two street signs; one broken
collar bone; one separated shoulder, and one trip to the emergency room and that bicycle was never seen on the streets of Tybee again.
I never cease to be amazed with the number of innovative ways people come up with to lessen their chance that they will receive a DUI instead of
employing the one that absolutely guarantees you will not. It is simply to follow the 11th commandment – thou shalt not fail to take advantage of a
$5.00 cab ride to avoid a several hundred times more expensive charge of driving under the influence.
This month’s question also asks about the repercussions of a biking under the influence charge and if it goes on your driving record.
As far as the State of Georgia is concerned you have a DUI. That is what anyone with access to your driving record will also see. The record simply
shows the charge which is driving under the influence and the disposition. It does not contain factual information concerning the underlying charge.
You have a DUI and all of the factual, legal, and financial considerations that go with it.
32 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JULY 2019
By Franklin Edenfield