Drink cycling

Spiffington

Is it acceptable and/or legal to cycle after drinking, up to a point beyond the limit for driving?

Cycling back from t' pub last night, having consumed a mere 2 pints over the course of the evening and feeling no effects*, I realised that it was still enough that I would never risk driving. Should I have been just as cautious about cycling and walked home instead?

* of course, just because I didn't notice any effects doesn't mean there weren't any

CarlosDSanchez

Depends where you live. Cycling through the middle of London after 4 or 5 pints probably isn't such a hot idea. Cycling home from the village pub at 1am and only meeting 3 cars on the whole 4 mile trip back is okay though......

andyb78

Spiffington wrote:

Is it acceptable and/or legal to cycle after drinking, up to a point beyond the limit for driving?

Cycling back from t' pub last night, having consumed a mere 2 pints over the course of the evening and feeling no effects*, I realised that it was still enough that I would never risk driving. Should I have been just as cautious about cycling and walked home instead?

* of course, just because I didn't notice any effects doesn't mean there weren't any

'Spose it's a moral and common sense choice really. Whilst the powers that be aren't going to take away your bike if you ride it after a few jars, it's not much good if you're under a bus because you weren't in a position to ride safely, or you end up injuring someone else due to being under the influence and hitting them...

I have in the past cycled home after 4 or 5 pints, with no trouble, in both country and city environments. However, I understand why some people choose not to drink and then cycle. (Especially when I see some of the absolutely suicidal idiots in Cambridge of an evening spilling out of the pubs and onto their BSOs :shock: )

si_ramsey

I ride with SPD's and have a general rule that if I am co-ordinated enough to clip my feet in and out of the pedals then it is probably ok to ride (Carefully)

Limburger

I remember the fuzz in York doing some people for being drunk in charge of a vehicle. there were really drunk to the point of falling over though.

From my own experience it can seem great at the time and tends to sober you up a bit but you feel the horror of what could have been when you wake up.

Even more recently I rode my bike straight into a drainage ditch on friday night after 'borrel'. On the occasion I was in such a monumental state of inebriation that I could no longer speak or see. Fun times.

El Diego

Drink riding is fun

si_ramsey

Don't recommend stopping off for a kebab though (from previous personal experience).

Beer + Cycling + Kebab = not good outcome :oops:

Kieran_Burns

si_ramsey wrote:

I ride with SPD's and have a general rule that if I am co-ordinated enough to clip my feet in and out of the pedals then it is probably ok to ride (Carefully)

Ah.


Can you get anti-drunk? I may need help.

CiB

Pffft. That's what bikes are for, when you're too drunk to walk you can still get home. Youth of terday eh <wanders off muttering>

Disclaimer - I used to do it across fields & farm tracks. Life may different these days, for you meterosexual peoples on here.

stevie_90210

El Diego wrote:

Drink riding is fun

I can't help but agree...

Stuey01

CarlosDSanchez wrote:

Depends where you live. Cycling through the middle of London after 4 or 5 pints probably isn't such a hot idea. Cycling home from the village pub at 1am and only meeting 3 cars on the whole 4 mile trip back is okay though......

People use this exact logic to justify drink driving.

CarlosDSanchez

My only SPD "moment" has been when to drunk to decide which foot to unclip, the missus thought it was hilarious until she got home and forgot to put a foot down when she stopped....

rjsterry

I'm a complete lightweight when it comes to alcohol, and don't drink that much anyway, especially now I have the little one taking up most of my spare time. The odd occasion I have cycled home (about 10 miles then), I felt really quite unpleasant - achy legs and that slightly clammy feeling you get when you've drunk too much strong coffee. The only 'drink cycling' scenario I'm likely to find myself in iis after work drinks, followed by a ride home through central London, and as been mentioned, that's bad enough when your sober, so I just don't drink if I'm cycling.

Wow, I live on the edge, don't I!

As for the legal side of it, I believe what applies to drivers applies to cyclists, although obviously it is less well enforced as drunk cyclists just tend to end up falling over rather than ploughing into a bus stop.

rjsterry

Stuey01 wrote:

CarlosDSanchez wrote:

Depends where you live. Cycling through the middle of London after 4 or 5 pints probably isn't such a hot idea. Cycling home from the village pub at 1am and only meeting 3 cars on the whole 4 mile trip back is okay though......

People use this exact logic to justify drink driving.

+1 The old "It's OK 'cause I'm not going far and I'll only drive slowly". You only need to hit one car.

toontra

A few years ago when totally, completely and utterly pi$$ed I set off home up Oxford Street. I was heading the wrong way but was unable turn round because I could tell that slowing down and turning would have caused a loss of balance. So I went a very long way round and eventually fell off on Theobald's Road, narrowly missed by vehicles but still quite badly scarred arm, hip and leg. I still have the scars.

I gave up drinking shortly after.

cee

groooh. not for me...not again at least.

I did it once far too drunk and was a bit crashy.

never again.

chriscdesign

I think the main point here to consider is that on a bike you are so unlikely to kill someone than you would driving a car. You might kill yourself granted but I think the main message behind drink driving is that there is a distinct possibility that will kill someone.

On another note, if you go the pub on your bike you might have other issues to consider. Don't get me wrong, I love a few pints of Guinness/Bulmers not to the excess of 'hmm, yeah I'm grand I can ride home'

Porgy

ever since I fell off my bike at Kennington and broke a rib I try not to drink and cycle. That's the point where it stopped being fun.

A couple of pints is fine, but any more than that and it's bike on the train time.

mudcovered

spicy238 wrote:

30(1) A person who, when riding a cycle on a road or other public place, is unfit to ride through drink or drugs (that is to say, is under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the cycle) is guilty of an offence :shock:

Sounds right. As I understand it there is no specific blood alcohol limit (like there is for cars) its done on whether you are in control of the bike. I've had one late night encounter with the police when riding home from the pub when they had closed a road (for reasons unknown ) on my route home. They just told me how to get round the closure and made no comment on my state of sobriety. On that particular journey I'd had 4-5 pints with food. No way in hell I would have driven after that but I could walk easily and control of the bike was no problem including SPD clip/unclip.

Basically if you are more unstable than you normally are when you ride then don't do it. Either walk the bike home or leave it and make some alternate transport arrangements.

Mike

simonwbooth

I've had a couple of crashes now after having a couple and although both times I maintain that it wasn't my fault 1st a car clipped me whilst coming from behind me and the second a car pulled out in front of me and although I didn't hit him a braked swerved and fell of both time knacking my elbow.

The wife's not best pleased and doesn't want me to do it anymore, it has also lead me to consider that although possible not my fault, would I have been more alert and able to avoid both situations if I hadn't had a drink?

I also understand that if you are arrested for drink cycling and you have a driving license you loose your license even though you weren't in a car.

MonkeyMonster

I find it amusing that no one from the morpeth crew has said anything yet

Porgy

simonwbooth wrote:

I've had a couple of crashes now after having a couple and although both times I maintain that it wasn't my fault 1st a car clipped me whilst coming from behind me and the second a car pulled out in front of me and although I didn't hit him a braked swerved and fell of both time knacking my elbow.

Yeah and I swear blind that the pavement that sent me flying bloody moved. :evil:

andyb78

simonwbooth wrote:

I've had a couple of crashes now after having a couple and although both times I maintain that it wasn't my fault 1st a car clipped me whilst coming from behind me and the second a car pulled out in front of me and although I didn't hit him a braked swerved and fell of both time knacking my elbow.

The wife's not best pleased and doesn't want me to do it anymore, it has also lead me to consider that although possible not my fault, would I have been more alert and able to avoid both situations if I hadn't had a drink?

I also understand that if you are arrested for drink cycling and you have a driving license you loose your license even though you weren't in a car.

Re the last bit - utter tosh. Where on Earth did you dig that up from? :roll:

Porgy

andyb78 wrote:

simonwbooth wrote:

I've had a couple of crashes now after having a couple and although both times I maintain that it wasn't my fault 1st a car clipped me whilst coming from behind me and the second a car pulled out in front of me and although I didn't hit him a braked swerved and fell of both time knacking my elbow.

The wife's not best pleased and doesn't want me to do it anymore, it has also lead me to consider that although possible not my fault, would I have been more alert and able to avoid both situations if I hadn't had a drink?

I also understand that if you are arrested for drink cycling and you have a driving license you loose your license even though you weren't in a car.

Re the last bit - utter tosh. Where on Earth did you dig that up from? :roll:

It's a common urban myth - i don;t think you have to dig far for it to be fair - not helped by the fact that in the past courts have actually tried to apply this penalty - which always gets overturned on appeal. Magistrates eh? :roll:

greg66_tri_v2.0

andyb78 wrote:

simonwbooth wrote:

I've had a couple of crashes now after having a couple and although both times I maintain that it wasn't my fault 1st a car clipped me whilst coming from behind me and the second a car pulled out in front of me and although I didn't hit him a braked swerved and fell of both time knacking my elbow.

The wife's not best pleased and doesn't want me to do it anymore, it has also lead me to consider that although possible not my fault, would I have been more alert and able to avoid both situations if I hadn't had a drink?

I also understand that if you are arrested for drink cycling and you have a driving license you loose your license even though you weren't in a car.

Re the last bit - utter tosh. Where on Earth did you dig that up from? :roll:

You might, but wouldn't necessarily, lose your licence if you were convicted of any offence, including (eg) something related to cycling whilst drunk: section 146(1) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000

146 Driving disqualification for any offence

(1) The court by or before which a person is convicted of an offence committed after 31st December 1997 may, instead of or in addition to dealing with him in any other way, order him to be disqualified, for such period as it thinks fit, for holding or obtaining a driving licence.

Porgy

It's funny that a while ago when I argued that it was true some lawyer proved to me it was a myth. now I say it's a myth some lawyer shows me it's true.

this law thing - it's all smoke and mirrors designed to keep us confused. :?

greg66_tri_v2.0

Porgy wrote:

It's funny that a while ago when I argued that it was true some lawyer proved to me it was a myth. now I say it's a myth some lawyer shows me it's true.

this law thing - it's all smoke and mirrors designed to keep us confused. :?

What I know about criminal law can be written, well, in that post, really. So I could be wrong. I'm a bit curious to know what form the other lawyer's proof took though, as it's generally harder to prove a negative than a positive.

biondino

I have one big problem when I cycle under the influence - I can't shoulder check without swinging out into the road. Just can't do it. Everything else about the way I ride feels fine - I'm just as focused, just as stable, and *feel* just as perceptive.

Of course, after a certain amount to drink - say more than 3 pints - I am pretty sure that even if I perceive I'm okay, I'm probably not. I also notice my cornering isn't as precise. I want to go quicker, too (which feel great for about 10 seconds, and then feels awful).

Each time I have cycled home properly drunk - say 4 pints plus - I have known it was a really dumb idea.

Porgy

Greg66 wrote:

Porgy wrote:

It's funny that a while ago when I argued that it was true some lawyer proved to me it was a myth. now I say it's a myth some lawyer shows me it's true.

this law thing - it's all smoke and mirrors designed to keep us confused. :?

What I know about criminal law can be written, well, in that post, really. So I could be wrong. I'm a bit curious to know what form the other lawyer's proof took though, as it's generally harder to prove a negative than a positive.

I can't find the post I was involved in - but here's another - this subject just goes round and round.

Spen66 disagrees with you on this
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... g&start=20

Spen66 wrote:

You stated that

Quote:
in law it is correct, you can get points on your licence if you have one for an endorsable offence on your pedal cycle



That is wrong. There is no endorseable offence for cycling.

You have access to the PNLD, so do I, plus I also have access to many other legal text books, the relevant statutes and appendicies to the Road Traffic Acts and the relevant regulations. Not one of them has an endorseable offence for cycling as far as I and my colleagues, court clerks and barristers I know are aware.

If as you claim there are endorseable cycling offences, then please name just one such offence.

I will apologise to you if you can show that I am wrong.


You say I am foolish for not reading the fuill story? How do you make out I have not read the full story, which incidentially I have?

I repeat what I said, you are very ignorant of the law for a police officer. You are simply wrong on the subject of endorseable offences for cycling

W1

Porgy wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Porgy wrote:

It's funny that a while ago when I argued that it was true some lawyer proved to me it was a myth. now I say it's a myth some lawyer shows me it's true.

this law thing - it's all smoke and mirrors designed to keep us confused. :?

What I know about criminal law can be written, well, in that post, really. So I could be wrong. I'm a bit curious to know what form the other lawyer's proof took though, as it's generally harder to prove a negative than a positive.

I can't find the post I was involved in - but here's another - this subject just goes round and round.

Spen66 disagrees with you on this
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... g&start=20

Spen66 wrote:

You stated that

Quote:
in law it is correct, you can get points on your licence if you have one for an endorsable offence on your pedal cycle



That is wrong. There is no endorseable offence for cycling.

You have access to the PNLD, so do I, plus I also have access to many other legal text books, the relevant statutes and appendicies to the Road Traffic Acts and the relevant regulations. Not one of them has an endorseable offence for cycling as far as I and my colleagues, court clerks and barristers I know are aware.

If as you claim there are endorseable cycling offences, then please name just one such offence.

I will apologise to you if you can show that I am wrong.


You say I am foolish for not reading the fuill story? How do you make out I have not read the full story, which incidentially I have?

I repeat what I said, you are very ignorant of the law for a police officer. You are simply wrong on the subject of endorseable offences for cycling

An endorsable offence and being banned from driving aren't the same thing. An endorsable offence is getting points on your licence - the statute Greg quoted is about being relieved of your licence entirely.

Porgy

W1 wrote:

Porgy wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Porgy wrote:

It's funny that a while ago when I argued that it was true some lawyer proved to me it was a myth. now I say it's a myth some lawyer shows me it's true.

this law thing - it's all smoke and mirrors designed to keep us confused. :?

What I know about criminal law can be written, well, in that post, really. So I could be wrong. I'm a bit curious to know what form the other lawyer's proof took though, as it's generally harder to prove a negative than a positive.

I can't find the post I was involved in - but here's another - this subject just goes round and round.

Spen66 disagrees with you on this
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... g&start=20

Spen66 wrote:

You stated that

Quote:
in law it is correct, you can get points on your licence if you have one for an endorsable offence on your pedal cycle



That is wrong. There is no endorseable offence for cycling.

You have access to the PNLD, so do I, plus I also have access to many other legal text books, the relevant statutes and appendicies to the Road Traffic Acts and the relevant regulations. Not one of them has an endorseable offence for cycling as far as I and my colleagues, court clerks and barristers I know are aware.

If as you claim there are endorseable cycling offences, then please name just one such offence.

I will apologise to you if you can show that I am wrong.


You say I am foolish for not reading the fuill story? How do you make out I have not read the full story, which incidentially I have?

I repeat what I said, you are very ignorant of the law for a police officer. You are simply wrong on the subject of endorseable offences for cycling

An endorsable offence and being banned from driving aren't the same thing. An endorsable offence is getting points on your licence - the statute Greg quoted is about being relieved of your licence entirely.

are they different - i must admit I thought they'd be the same - I don;t drive - so don;t know.

Aren't points just banning by instalment?

but wouldn't there be a common principle under these - that somehting you do on your bike cannot be punished by removing or endorsing your driving license.

Just a question.