Wheelchair DUIs

There's a lot I'd like to say about this if I didn't feel sick today. The links and some excerpts will have to tell the story on their own.

Man in wheelchair ticketed for DUI, wheelchair confiscated (courtesy of Kalahara at No Pity)

A Hampshire man trying to drive his motorized wheelchair to a grocery store spent a night in jail this week after police charged him with drunken driving. But Huntley police voided the ticket the next morning after realizing that drunken-driving laws do not apply to people in wheelchairs.

While the man was tranferred to another jail for an unrelated warrant, his wheelchair did not make the trip with him:

Huntley police still have Newman's wheelchair, and they say they will keep it until either Newman or someone he knows picks it up. Newman can walk, with difficulty, without the wheelchair, [Police Chief] Ciombor said.

A Florida case in 2004: Woman fights wheelchair DUI charge

Under Florida law, a motor vehicle is defined as any self-propelled vehicle, including a bicycle, motorized scooter and an assistive mobility device.

Some brief blog commentary on her case provides this quote from a newspaper:

Judge Peyton Hyslop, in one of his last rulings from the bench, said the wheelchair essentially was the woman's legs and that charging her in this case would be tantamount to bringing DUI charges against anyone who was drunk and standing up.....Hyslop said under those terms, an able-bodied totally intoxicated person sitting next to the impaired disabled person "would not be subject to such arrest, and only to arrest if disorderly".