Law Humor

DUI Charge for Driver of Motorized Bar Stool

By Kevin Underhill

If you have been paying attention, you should know by now that you can be charged with driving under the influence no matter what sort of vehicle you are driving.  In the past we have seen DUIs handed out to people riding lawnmowers, motorized beer-coolers, Zamboni ice machines, and in one case even a horse, which I never really thought of as a "vehicle" but which did qualify as such under the state law in question.

A man in Ohio, however, may have done more than any other (except possibly the beer-cooler guy) to combine the activities of drinking and driving -- he was charged on March 4 with driving under the influence after admitting he had consumed 15 beers before getting on his motorized bar stool.

Perfect for the drive-through bar near you

The 28-year-old man was picked up by police and taken to a hospital after a friend called to report an accident.  "I got a friend who wrecked a bar stool," said the caller, in 911 tapes that police released today.  Assuming the caller was referring to a non-vehicular accident inside the bar, the dispatcher asked whether the victim had suffered head injuries in a fall.  "Um, no," the caller explained, "he was riding the bar stool . . . a motorized bar stool."

The stool driver was charged after he told an officer at the hospital that he had been drinking.  His injuries were reportedly minor, although he told police that his vehicle was capable of traveling at speeds up to 38 miles per hour. 

Link: msnbc.com (Mar. 31, 2009)

Full post as published by Lowering the Bar on March 31, 2009 (boomark / email).