I use an electric wheelchair. Upon leaving a bar, I notice I am pretty inebriated. Obviously I shouldn't drive an automobile, and I don't. But what about my wheelchair? I know some jurisdictions will give DUI's for riding a bike while drunk. Do I have to just sit still until I sober up?
I am in NY, but I'd be interested in answers from any jurisdiction.
No.
New York's DUI law forbids the operation of a motor vehicle when your "ability to operate such motor vehicle is impaired by the consumption of alcohol", but it defines "motor vehicle" to exclude "electrically-driven mobility assistance devices operated or driven by a person with a disability."
If you are using a wheelchair because of a disability, you are therefore not subject to the DUI statute.
NO
The drink related offences are at sections 4 to 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and all require a person to be driving a mechanically propelled vehicle.
However... an invalid carriage is expressly excluded by virtue of section 185(1)(c) of that Act and section 20(1)(b) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970:
...if the vehicle [i.e. the invalid carriage] is mechanically propelled, it shall be treated for the purposes of the ... Road Traffic Act 1988 ... as not being a motor vehicle ...
Section 185 of the 1988 Act defines an “invalid carriage” as:
... a mechanically propelled vehicle the weight of which unladen does not exceed 254 kilograms and which is specially designed and constructed, and not merely adapted, for the use of a person suffering from some physical defect or disability and is used solely by such a person
In Finland, the traffic law (Finnish text) defines users of mobility assisting devices as pedestrians.
However, the criminal code (Finnish, or out-dated English translation), chapter 23, section 9, defines a crime called "Non-motor powered traffic intoxication":
A road user who operates a non-motor powered vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other narcotic substances, thereby causing a hazard to others, shall be sentenced for non-motor powered traffic intoxication to a fine or to imprisonment for at most three months. [emphasis added]
This is the crime that applies to e.g. bicycles as well. That old version doesn't specify which vehicles count here, but the current text is more explicit, and also includes mobility assisting devices with at most a 1 kW engine and 15 km/h max speed.
They key part is "causing a hazard to others"; just being drunk shouldn't be enough.
A wheelchair is a vehicle under the definition in the Road Traffic Act. Further, an electric wheelchair is a motor vehicle.
It is illegal to operate either while over the legal limit for alcohol or other drugs. The penalties are higher for a motor vehicle.
Police only have the right to administer a random breath test if you are driving a motor vehicle. However, if you are involved in an accident and hospitalised they can demand a blood test.
Probably not in Sweden. The transport agency says that
Trafikregler för rullstolsburna
Trafikreglerna för gående gäller
or in English
Traffic rules for wheelchairs
The traffic rules for pedestrians apply
YES
In Israel an electric wheelchair has a special definition and it's called "Kalno'it" (a combination of easy and move in Hebrew) and those are the rules saying among other thing
(ב) לא ינהג אדם בקלנועית אלא אם כן מצבו הגופני והנפשי מאפשר לו להפעילה בבטחה.
(B) A person shall not drive a Kalno'it unless his physical and mental condition allows him to operate it safely.
No traffic violation for being intoxicated, as it is not considered a vehicle
Resolution 465/2013 of CONTRAN (National Traffic Council) defines on its 2nd paragraph that self-propelled mobility equipment are not considered equivalent to vehicles, allowing them to circulate in pedestrian and bicycle paths as long as they:
You can, however, get fined by jay...rolling (?) as defined in Article 254 of the National Code of Transit. Not that anybody bothers with enforcing that.
NO
The definition by the code de la route (road law) :
1° Le terme "véhicule à moteur" désigne tout véhicule terrestre pourvu d'un moteur de propulsion, y compris les trolleybus, et circulant sur route par ses moyens propres, à l'exception des véhicules qui se déplacent sur rails ;
(1) The term "motor vehicle" means any land vehicle equipped with a propulsion engine, including trolleybuses, and circulating on the road by its own means, with the exception of vehicles that travel on rails;
Article L110-1
But this is reversed by R311-1 point 6.15 which outlines which vehicles types are bound under the road code :
6.15. Engin de déplacement personnel motorisé : véhicule sans place assise, conçu et construit pour le déplacement d'une seule personne [...] Les engins exclusivement destinés aux personnes à mobilité réduite sont exclus de cette catégorie ;
6.15. Motorized personal mobility device: a vehicle without a seating area, designed and constructed for the movement of a single person [...] Vehicles intended exclusively for persons with reduced mobility are excluded from this category;
Since you're not using your wheelchair on the road, you're not subject to NYC DUI laws. New York State has no law against being intoxicated from alcohol in public. https://ypdcrime.com/vt/article31.php
