Can You Get a DUI on a Lime or Bird Scooter in Oklahoma?

Well, here are the elements that we go through when we’re looking at a DUI: driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more; if it’s less than that, 0.06, 0.07, it could still be DWI, but for a DUI, it’s got to be 0.08 or more.

A motor vehicle on a public road. All right, so the first element: driving. And generally, that’s been construed pretty broadly under Oklahoma laws, including just operating. So the fact that you’re operating an electric scooter is likely to meet the first definition.

Number two deals with whether you’re actually intoxicated, 0.08 or above, or other evidence of intoxication to that sufficient level. That’s going to be the same as any other DUI; the fact that it’s a scooter doesn’t change anything there. So we won’t go into too much detail.

The next one is a motor vehicle. So what is a motor vehicle under state law and does an electric scooter qualify? All right, so the motor vehicle is defined under Oklahoma law and Title 47, section 1-134, as any vehicle, which is self-propelled, but does not include implements of husbandry, electric personal assistant mobility devices, or motorized wheelchair. So any vehicle. Well, so a scooter is going to be considered a vehicle that transports a person from place to place, but then it has exceptions for implements of husbandry. That’s generally items for farming and livestock. Tractors, things along those lines, and electric personal assistant mobility devices. That’s going to be more like your Segway, so this doesn’t fall into that category. And motorized wheelchairs; a number of different reasons it doesn’t fall into that, the first of which is that they have a maximum of eight miles per hour. Those Lime and Bird scooters can go and travel faster than eight miles per hour. So by these definitions already in Oklahoma law, it does appear then that an electric scooter would qualify as a vehicle, as that is defined for the purposes of DUI.

Lastly then, we deal with public roads. That also has been defined relatively broadly and has been expanded over recent years, but let’s see if we can find the definition specifically for that.

So, public roads have been defined as public roads, highway, streets, turnpikes, or other public places, or upon private roads, street, alley, or lane, which provides access to one or more single or multi-family dwellings. So if you’re on the public road, highway… any of those, then that’s going to qualify as a public road, obviously. Also, sometimes these are driven on sidewalks. Sidewalks going to be a public places, so it’s likely to fall into that category.

So for the most part, if you are driving in or riding in public on a motorized scooter, it’s going to fall within the requirements for defining DUI, if you are intoxicated. So be careful related to that, both for your safety and for complying with the law. So if the question is, can you get a DUI on a Bird or Lime scooter, the answer is yes, you can.

If you are dealing with that circumstance or another criminal charge in the state of Oklahoma, you’re not going to want to go that alone. You’re going to want representation from an Oklahoma attorney. To speak with a Tulsa DUI attorney in my office, you can go online to makelaweasy.com.