Man In Wheelchair Hit With DUI Charge

Australian Who Fell Asleep In Motorized Wheelchair Faces Stiff Fine If Convicted

(AP)  A man found asleep in a motorized wheelchair on a highway in northern Australia was charged with drunk driving, police said Monday.

Officers in a patrol car noticed the man slumped in the stationary chair about 10 a.m. Friday on an exit lane near the tourist city of Cairns, regional traffic Inspector Bob Waters said. Cars were swerving to get around him, Waters said.

The officers breath-tested the 64-year-old man, who registered a blood alcohol reading of 0.301 - more than six times the legal driving limit. He was charged with operating a vehicle while drunk and ordered to report to court on July 7, where he faces a stiff fine if convicted.

"The vehicles that we normally hear about with drink driving are the family car, the truck, the motorbike," Waters said. "But there are also other classes of vehicles that are subject to drink-driving laws," including horses, bicycles, and motorized wheelchairs.

The man, whose name was not released, told police he was making a nine-mile trip from his home to a friend's place, Waters said.

"He placed himself in a very dangerous situation," he said.

[barbaram99]

i realise that was overaeas. I live in Seattle, they let drunks on the bus. They allow them to drink at ball games. That is drinking in public. But the same joe has a drink in his yard they write him a dui on his yard. I DON''T DRINK.
When I was a kid ,Uncle tossed a butt out the window, yep the cop saw it. We all had to pick up trash due to that butt. That was in the early 60s.
Any thing could happen in America.
Maybe the gent ia the centre of this story will stay home when he drinks for the safety of others.

[howzilla]

I realize this was in Australia but the same thing could happen here in the U.S. I believe it is not constitutionally lawful for the police to give a ticket to a person for operating a device under the influence when the operation of that device is not regulated by the law. The test here should be does the device require a license? If not then I do not believe the police should be able to interfere and write a ticket. This is quite absurd. What was the danger here? I guess he might have run over a person''s toe but that probably happens every day any way with little or no consequences. If he puts himself in danger then that is his business and that certainly should not be against the law. If that type of thing were against the law then every one who hang glides, parachutes, bungee jumps etc. should be arrested. If the cops don''t have anything better to do then we have too many cops.

[patriot12436]

barbaram99
A lot of people using wheelchairs do not need assistance to live. He was probably one of them. Maybe now he will be put in assisted living since he has shown he cannot make rational decisions any longer.

[barbaram99]

Why the world did he be there. I don''t like drunks. They allow drunks on the bus here. Ye can''t take his chair away but he was a danger and where was his care taker.

[patriot12436]

policrypt
Not if your being run over. They are quite powerful and you cannot stop them by pushing against them when they are moving. My father had one for last six years of his life. Was known to try to run over people when having a disagreement in the nursing home.

[dobbershome]

What a bunch of pric*s

[imotorist]

Drunk walking, dumb thinking, idiotic commenting are all relative.

[shanev137]

Sounds like something that would happen here in Arizona.

I''m actually surprised our local government hasn''t found a way to give photo radar tickets to pedestrians, bicycle riders and people in wheel chairs yet.

[pvperson]

OokickoffoO.......Are you drunk?

The story is about a man in Australia.

[deacon20081]

In Texas....City Police Officers enter bars and arrest anyone who is drunk in public.....kills a buzz quickly LOL.

[patriot12436]

acolton
Have you ever examined a motorized wheelchair ? They are quite heavy. I wouldn''t want to get ran over by one.

[mythoughtsr]

What people can''t seem to wrap themselves around here is the common sense aspect of the arrest. Regardless of whether he''s on a horse, scooter, whatEVER, he was blocking a lane of traffic, people had to swerve to get around him. There could have been any number of collisions and people could have been seriously hurt.

For the person who mentioned drunk walking, there have long been laws against public drunkenness and you can be cited for that as well as having an open container.

[govwatch-2009]

What is next? Drunk walking?

[acolton1]

I honestly dont think that a motorized wheelchair is a vehicle. You can out run a wheelchair. They have no doors or windows or ignition key and if you get hit by a motorized wheelchair I dont think it will kill you. That''s like charging somebody for being on a horse drunk. Is that Drunk Driving ?

[barbaraf4]

Was his motorized wheelchair licensed to be on public hiways? This would be like driving your golf cart on the freeway. Drunk or not, he shouldn''t have been there.

[patriot12436]

The law for DUI clearly states the operation or control of a motorized vehicle. He could have been struck and killed. Maybe he doesn''t mind dying but what about the trauma it would cause to someone who killed him. Taking a life even by accident is a hard thing to live with.

[ookickoffoo]

Have we really stooped as low as to collect money from the sinors for this? I fail to see any damage he could possibly do to anyone but himself. Is it me or are they (the police) waiting tax payer dollars. Another note to consider, most of the great American heros were sots.