Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Green, First Drive
Dude busted for DUI while driving motorized cooler
Police in Whitehall, NY cold-busted an inebriated motorist over the Memorial Day weekend for swerving around in the middle of the street and weaving onto area sidewalks. That happened plenty of times over Memorial Day weekend, but what makes this story interesting is the fact that the driver was piloting an electrically powered cooler. Under New York state law, driving any motorized vehicle must be done sans alcohol, and that means anything from cars and boats to motorized coolers falls under the letter of the law. While some would argue that the electric cooler doesn't pose a real threat to pedestrians or other motorists, we'd disagree. This idiot could have caused other drivers to swerve to miss him, and strike others in the process.While the cops did the right thing by pulling over this cooler-driving clown, we question the need for an ice cozy and cup holder on this vehicle. Of course people are going to use it to drink and scoot! Then again, it seems every new family vehicle is getting ice bins, too, and some of them have like 15 cup holders.
[Source: Switched]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mkM3 12:42PM (6/06/2008)
"This idiot could have caused other drivers to swerve to miss him, and strike others in the process."
Yep, just like a drunk person on foot could.
And while public drunkenness is certainly illegal, getting a DUI for walking down the sidewalk drunk would be preposterous, just as this case is also preposterous.
DUI = *Driving* under the influence.
Give the guy a ticket for being a dumbass drunk. Maybe two or three if his actions constitute other violations as well. But at least he did not actually get behind the wheel like so many others on that particular weekend. No way in hell he should be punished as if he had. Either that or lets just start throwing anyone who comes out of a bar after three drinks immediately in jail. After all, they might stumble into the street and cause an accident. Right?
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Starnerf 1:06PM (6/06/2008)
He was controlling a motorized vehicle in motion, therefore he was driving (under the law).
Vintage 1:27PM (6/06/2008)
Yet the pigs continue to ignore people who don't use turn signals.
This is why I hate cops. They enforce stupid rules, punish the wrong people, and don't really solve the problem.
BrianM 1:35PM (6/06/2008)
What is being "Driven" should very well be relevant as to what is charged, seriously this guy could have been on a bicycle and gone faster and would have posed almost the same amount of risk to the public at large, Yet on a bike he would have gotten away with a mis-demeanor and a small fine for public drunkeness.
DUI on the other hand involves immediate license suspension, possible jail time and 5+ Years of penalty with what your insurance is going to do to you.
Seriously there are like 3 different laws he could have chanrged with why the heck do they need another passed?
mkM3 1:52PM (6/06/2008)
@Starnerf: Yes and clearly the law is "broken" as it has been written in a suck a way to completely bastardize the seriousness a real drunk driver imposes on society.
@BrianM: Exactly. In fact I think he could do much more damage on bicycle, or indeed perhaps just by running quickly through a crowd waving his arms around madly. There are laws in place to deal with drunk people doing dumb things and giving someone a DUI when they did not drive completely belittles the point of a DUI and also bastardizes the criminal justice system as a whole.
timmer 12:53PM (6/06/2008)
Officer: License, registration, and proof insurance.
Guy: Yeah...about that *burp*
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Allan 12:57PM (6/06/2008)
I know a guy in NY near where I used to live (not too far from where I am now) that got a DUI on his lawnmower (sans mowing deck). I don't think he could afford a car so he would ride this lawnmower down the street to the bar.
Just as ridiculous, but logical when you stop to think of the problems he could have caused by people avoiding him or being cautious.
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iSpec 1:04PM (6/06/2008)
I think Whitehall is home of the 'Railroaders' (high school name). At least they were when i was growing up near there.
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Toy Yoda 1:22PM (6/06/2008)
So what if you were paralyzed, in an electric chair and intoxicated? According to NY Law/Autoblog, the paralyzed guy can be cited?
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mkM3 1:46PM (6/06/2008)
Yes, you could apparently. At least as the law is written in New York.
But if you jump in a soap box racer all wasted and cruise down a big hill, then you are fine - no DUI (though perhaps plenty of other lesser citations). Similarly, I suppose if you gutted an old car chassis and powered it with pedals (I've seen such a creation on the net) you are absolutley not drunk driving. Also, please don't accidentally set your beer on your kids Lil Tikes ride-on Barbie Jeep because they will get thrown in the slammer with a DUI charge.
Realistically, drunk driving should very clearly be reserved for vehicles that require an operators license. Operating other vehicles while drunk is by no means safe nor legal, but the offense should be something other than a DUI. Should it be worse than simply walking down the street drunk? I don't know that it should. However, any j-walking or other offenses committed during such an act should definitely be ticketed also.
Mike 1:25PM (6/06/2008)
How do you get the lid open while you're driving it?
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Dude 1:30PM (6/06/2008)
Ah man! I was hoping this wouldn't make the news.
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DCragtop 1:39PM (6/06/2008)
ROFLMAO!
DCragtop 1:45PM (6/06/2008)
same thing (sorta) happend to me when I was 7. So it's a nice sunny summer day, had a few too many Capri Sun...and I found myself doing what I thought were innocent burnouts on a back country road in my HotWheels 3-wheeler, you know, the Ralley Pack edition, and next think I knew....I'm being harrassed, tested, and haulded off back home and my 3-wheeler impounded. That was the last time I ever saw that 3-wheeler. It's ok, I'm not scarred because I figured out how to 'tune' my John Deer. The rest is history.
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Mike K 2:50PM (6/06/2008)
I believe (although it's been a while since I looked) in Virginia that you can get a DUI on horseback. I don't know if it's only while on a road or if a field counts. Probably can get one on a bicycle too.
My opinion is that operating a vehicle on a public road should be the important part (no matter the vehicle). In Virginia (all states?) you can get a DUI if you're intoxicated and sitting in your car IN YOUR DRIVEWAY. Apparently it has happened after husbands and wifes fight and the man going outside to sit in the car and starts it to keep warm and drinks a beer (or 12). If a cop drives by and sees a car running the the driveway that may be enough to suspect something is wrong. And since the car is "in operation" they can check you for drinking.
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Dan 2:51PM (6/06/2008)
"This idiot could have caused other drivers to swerve to miss him, and strike others in the process."
And driving a motorized cooler in traffic could cause that just as well if he were stone cold sober.
Actual behavior is what needs to be punished, not possible cause. But tell that to the neo-prohibitionists at MADD.
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theAlphaJohn 3:03PM (6/06/2008)
There's no such thing as DUI in New York, it's DWI (while intoxicated), and DWAI (while ability impaired).
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Alex 3:07PM (6/06/2008)
In Pa you can get a DUI on a skateboard (past experience tells me it is true).
This guy got hit with the book because he has a record and was apparently giving the cops a ton of lip. I would like to think that public drunkenness or disorderly conduct would befall the average drunk on a motorized cooler.
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f650 9:53AM (6/09/2008)
Hey there PA buddy. Same applies for a bicycle.
phlavor 7:54PM (6/06/2008)
Why the hell would you drive a cooler around if you were NOT drunk. It should be a forgone conclusion that anyone driving a motorized: cooler, barstool, Lay-Z Boy, or really small motorcycle is smashed out of their minds. AND it should be law that other drivers give them a berth of no less than 30 feet.
This proposed law should also include anyone of drinking age piloting a Big Wheel.
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