Can You Get A DUI On A Bicycle In Arizona?

One of my favorite pastimes is biking. I love to be able to get out in the open air and travel for the sake of travelling. No worries about gas, car wrecks on the interstate, or road rage filled drivers, just me, my pedals, and the wide open landscape.

While you're out biking, you'll likely work up a thirst, and some love to stop into roadside breweries and bars to ease their woes, but could this get you in trouble in Arizona?

The Difference Between Cars and Bikes

While there is a very obvious visual disconnect between bicycles and automobiles, they both accomplish the same thing. In the eyes of the law, however, they couldn't be more different.

In Arizona, a motor vehicle is defined as a self-propelled vehicle, meaning the machinery does the work for you. Due to that definition, bikes are excluded from this category, as they require human power to move.

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Can You Get a DUI on a Bike?

In the state of Arizona, since bicycles are not considered motor vehicles, they do not fall under the same DUI laws. As such, you cannot be charged with one while riding one of these "human powered" vehicles. The same applies to horses and skateboards within the Grand Canyon State as well.

That being said, while bikes can be an excellent alternative to allow you to travel home after a few drinks, I wouldn't recommend biking home while overly intoxicated. You still need your wits about you to operate one of these, and lack of awareness could still land you in a heap of trouble, just not by the police.

[Arizona Criminal Law Team]