Drunk driving in a wheelchair is NOT a driving offense

[skippy]

Drunken driving — in a wheelchair!

German police say blood-alcohol content reached ‘life-threatening figure’

Updated: 11:37 a.m. MT May 22, 2007

BERLIN - A wheelchair-bound German stunned police when they pulled him over for using the road and allegedly found he was 10 times over the legal alcohol limit for drivers.

“He was right in the middle of the road,” said a spokesman for police in the northeastern city of Schwerin on Tuesday. “The officers couldn’t quite believe it when they saw the results of the breath test. That’s a life-threatening figure.”

The 31-year-old told police he had been out drinking with a friend and was a mile from home when a police car stopped him as he passed through the village of Ventschow.
Police said that because the man was technically traveling as a pedestrian, he could not be charged with a driving offense.

“It’s not like we can impound his wheelchair,” the spokesman said. “But he is facing some sort of punishment. It’s just not clear yet what exactly that will be.”

[skippy]

Canadian sentenced for driving wheelchair drunk

Thu Jun 7, 3:36 PM ET

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian man was sentenced for drunk driving after being pulled over on his way home from the pub in his mother's motorized wheelchair, police said on Thursday.

Patrick Shanahan, 35, was fined and placed on probation by a Toronto-area court on Wednesday in the impaired driving case.

"I don't need a licence to operate it, I don't need insurance and I don't need licence plates to operate it," Shanahan was quoted by the Torstar News Service.

"So how can I be charged with drunk driving?"

The charge stems back to December 2004, when an officer saw Shanahan driving the wheelchair at around 1:15 a.m. and assessed that he was drunk, a police spokesman said.

The self-described alcoholic, who has a prior impaired driving conviction -- though not in a wheelchair -- later admitted he shouldn't have been driving the three-wheeler at the time, Torstar reported.

Shanahan was prohibited from driving any motorised vehicle for one year, was fined C$600 (286 pounds), given 18 months probation, and ordered to seek counselling.

[Back Country]

If i was in germany my bac would be at least 10 X over the legal limit as well. Their beer is amazing. Good job wheel chair guy