Australian Gets Busted for Boozing and Crusing in His Powerchair

Posted: 6/27/2008 at 06:41 PM

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Everyone knows that drinking and driving can lead to a large fine, the revocation of your drivers' license and potentially a few months in the slammer. But what about taking out your power wheelchair for a spin after you've had too many?

On Monday, police officials in Brisbane, Australia arrested a 64-year-old man who was slumped in an exit lane at approximately 10 PM. According to officers on the scene, the man smelled strongly of alcohol and when officers breathalysed him he blew.301--more than six times the legal limit!

The man told police that he was traveling 14KM (close to 9 miles) to visit a friend via a four-lane highway, quite a perilous journey in a powerchair. Police arrested the individual and he will appear in Cairns Magistrates Court on July 7.

"We'll allege he placed himself in a very dangerous situation," police spokesman Bob Walters said. "People should be aware that drunk-driving laws cover these kinds of vehicles, but also others like horses and bicycles," he added.

The incident wasn't the first of its kind.

In May of 2007, a German man was pulled over in his powerchair while driving in the middle of the road through the village of Ventschow. He shocked officers by having a blood-alcohol level ten times the legal limit. However, because the man was technically traveling as a pedestrian under German law, he could not be charged with a driving offense.

A Toronto resident tried to plead a similar case last year, when he he used his mother's motorized wheelchair to transport himself back from the pub. Patrick Shanahan--a thirty-five year-old self-described alcoholic--declared to Torstar News Service:

"I don't need a license to operate it. I don't need insurance and I don't need license plates to operate it. So, how can I be charged with drunk driving?"

Unfortunately for Shanahan, the court didn't see the logic to this assessment, and sentenced him to a year of probation, a fine, and court-ordered counseling.

Although, it's almost universally agreed that drinking and driving a wheelchair is a bad idea, the question many are posing is whether or not the wheelchairs of those who violate the law should be impounded in the same manner that vehicles are.

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Australian Gets Busted for Boozing and Crusing in His Powerchair

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