{"id":305014,"date":"2026-06-12T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/305014\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T10:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:00:13","slug":"can-you-get-a-dui-on-a-bicycle-heres-what-florida-law-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/305014\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you get a DUI on a bicycle? Here\u2019s what Florida law says"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 It\u2019s common knowledge by now that consuming alcohol and driving is not only against the law \u2014 it\u2019s also incredibly dangerous<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What many may not know is that this doesn\u2019t just extend to cars. <\/p>\n

Under state law<\/a>, someone is considered guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) if he\/she is in \u201cphysical control\u201d of a vehicle while under the effects of alcohol or other controlled substances.<\/p>\n

But that same chapter of state law also defines a \u201cvehicle<\/a>\u201d as follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a street or highway, except personal delivery devices, mobile carriers, and devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida s. 316.003(109)<\/p>\n

This means that even if you\u2019re riding on something as innocuous as a bicycle, you can still face a DUI charge if you get caught under the influence.<\/p>\n

For example, Winter Springs police took 34-year-old Kyle Blanton into custody back in February on a DUI charge after he fell backward off his e-bike and showed signs of intoxication, an arrest report shows.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: Paramedic faces DUI charge after being found unconscious behind wheel, police say]<\/p>\n

In fact, the broad definition of \u201cvehicle\u201d means that even riding something like a horse can net you a charge. This exact scenario happened to a woman in Polk County back in 2017.<\/p>\n

The woman \u2014 identified as Donna Byrne \u2014 was accused of DUI<\/a> after deputies said they found her riding a horse along the side of the road while smelling like alcohol.<\/p>\n

While she initially was accused of DUI, court records show that Byrne was ultimately found guilty of disorderly intoxication and culpable negligence instead.<\/p>\n

2017 booking photo for Donna Byrne (Polk County Jail)<\/p>\n

Regardless of the legal implications, it\u2019s still not a good idea to drive while drunk.<\/p>\n

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles<\/a>, drivers can experience the following symptoms while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs:<\/p>\n

A slowed reaction time<\/p>\n

Limited short-term memory functions<\/p>\n

Decreased hand-eye coordination<\/p>\n

Weakened concentration<\/p>\n

Difficulty perceiving time and distance<\/p>\n

As such, driving impaired can be dangerous for yourselves and others on the road around you. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust because your horsepower comes from your legs instead of an engine doesn\u2019t mean alcohol suddenly becomes a performance enhancer. Impairment is impairment,\u201d News 6\u2019s Trooper Steve said. \u201cThe good news? The solution is simple: If you\u2019ve had too much to drink, don\u2019t ride. Your dignity may survive an awkward phone call asking for a ride home. A DUI? That\u2019s a much tougher conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

[RELATED: What Florida drivers need to know about red-light cameras]<\/p>\n

Breaking News Alerts<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 It\u2019s common knowledge by now that consuming alcohol and driving is not only against the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[265,28,30,29,2161,139,1911,1014,2546,729,1798,8592],"class_list":["post-305014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-crime","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-government","tag-orlando","tag-polk-county","tag-seminole-county","tag-strange-florida","tag-traffic","tag-transportation","tag-winter-springs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}