No Horsing Around: What's considered a 'vehicle' when it comes to drunk driving laws?
A horse is a horse, of course. But can a horse be considered a “vehicle” if you’re charged with riding it while drunk? Well, it depends.
In my years as a prosecutor and judge, I’ve learned that police can charge a person with impaired driving while operating just about anything—from horse drawn carriages to riding lawn mowers.
“Vehicles” are generally defined by whether they’re powered by a motor—gas, diesel or electric. Or, in some cases, powered by a horse.
In 1983, two men were charged with riding their horses while drunk through the streets of Kaysville, Utah. One of the men’s sisters sat on the horse with him. She fell off and was seriously injured. The men were convicted of driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
On appeal, the horsemen contended that the statute failed to provide adequate notice that being intoxicated while riding a horse could result in a criminal conviction. The Utah Supreme Court noted that state law prohibits operating a “vehicle” while under the influence of alcohol, but concluded that the definition of a “vehicle” “cannot be legitimately read to include horses.” The convictions were vacated.
But horse-powered vehicles, such as buggies and wagons, are another story. In 1970, a New York court upheld a conviction for driving a horse-drawn stage coach while intoxicated, and an Arizona court in 1941 found that driving a wagon and team of horses could result in a similar conviction.
More recently, in 2024, an Ohio court affirmed an impaired driving conviction of the operator of a Amish horse-driven buggy. The court reasoned that an Amish buggy “is a piece of equipment designed for transportation utilizing horses to draw the device,” and thus fits within the definition of a “vehicle” under Ohio’s impaired driving statutes.
But as technology has evolved, so have the types of motor powered vehicles. Most cities have e-scooters and e-bikes available for short term rental without requiring a driver’s license or insurance. These rentals are often parked outside of pubs, bars and restaurants. With such easy access, it’s no surprise that people may leave those establishments impaired, and without considering whether they can be arrested for DUI.
A Wisconsin man was charged with operating a riding lawn mower while drunk. (Photo from Shutterstock)Golf communities and golf courses have seen their share of impaired drivers. Some states and cities have passed laws allowing low speed vehicles like golf carts on the roads. In cities and rural areas there’s also a new wave of alternative vehicles, such as ATVs, which I believe should qualify as vehicles for impaired driving purposes.
What about electric unicycles, hoverboards or snowmobiles? When visiting Alaska I learned locals call them snow machines. In some rural areas, everyone uses a snow machine during the extended winter. People drive them to the store, to visit friends, to take children to school and other daily tasks. Driving them while impaired certainly seems a legal violation.
Electric wheelchairs and scooters to assist those with disabilities can also be subject to impaired driving laws. During my 20 years as a prosecutor, I twice prosecuted the same gentleman for operating his electric wheelchair while impaired. He used to enjoy a few drinks before driving down 14th street to see his girlfriend. His neighbors grew tired of him side swiping their parked cars and alerted the police department.
The lyrics of Vince Gill’s song “One More Last Chance” says “She might’ve took my car keys, but she forgot about my old John Deere,” referring to a desperate wife who tries to keep her husband home. It didn’t work. He took off on his lawn mower to party with friends.
As a prosecutor, I saw several cases in which police had to chase someone on a lawn mower. Even one on a tractor, when the farmer left his field to turn around in the road and caused a crash. In Wisconsin in 2017, police got a tip about an outstanding warrant for a man who was driving a riding lawn mower on a roadway. The man was seen minutes earlier leaving a local tavern. After confirming the warrant, a police officer turned on his lights and siren in an effort to stop the lawn mower, but the driver tried to evade him by steering the mower through a grassy area and then into some trees. He was eventually caught by the officer after a foot chase.
Noticing a strong odor of alcohol, that the driver appeared “dazed and confused” and had difficulty keeping his balance, the officer attempted to perform field sobriety tests, but the driver refused and was arrested. A blood draw revealed the driver’s blood alcohol level at .119.
Wisconsin law defined a “motor vehicle” as “any vehicle which is self-propelled, except a vehicle operated exclusively on a rail.” The driver argued that the legislature couldn’t have envisioned a riding lawn mower as falling within that definition. Mowers do not require titles or registration and are designed for cutting grass, not for highway use. The court found that the driver operated the lawn mower on a highway as his means of transportation from the tavern and not for cutting grass.
Riding a bicycle, a device powered by humans rather than a propelled motor, proves more difficult to support an impaired-driving conviction. Several New Jersey courts have concluded that, because the statutory term “motor vehicle” includes only those propelled other than by muscular power, the operation of a bicycle cannot result in an impaired driving conviction. If the legislature intended to include pedal-powered bicycles in the state statute, it should simply have said so.
A District of Columbia court reached a different conclusion in 2010, finding that a bicycle represents a “vehicle” for purposes of the local DUI law, as the statutory prohibition against impaired driving applied to the operation of any vehicle, and the relevant statute defined a “vehicle” broadly as “any appliance moved over a highway on wheels or traction tread…”
Motorized bicycles, though, represent a different breed. In finding that a motorized bicycle meets the criteria for a motor vehicle under state law, a Missouri court found in 1957 that the statute’s evident purpose—to protect the public from intoxicated drivers—compelled the court to include such a vehicle within the statutory meaning of motor vehicle.
Then there are boats. Operating one while impaired is illegal in all fifty states, and under federal law. But it also depends on which jurisdiction exercises authority over the waterway and the applicable definition of a boat.
In Oregon in 2005, police responded to a boater in distress call on the Clackamas River. An officer made contact with the boat operator who admitted he piloted a raft under the influence. But he challenged whether his raft qualified as a boat. Oregon law prohibited any person from operating, propelling or being in control of any boat on any waters while under the influence of liquor or controlled substance. It defined a boat as “every description of watercraft … used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water, but does not include boathouses, floating homes, air mattresses, beach and water toys or single inner tubes,” and defined “operate” to mean navigate or otherwise use a boat.
The raft operator likened his craft to a water toy or air mattress. However, the officer described Lambert’s craft as a raft five feet long when inflated, with sides and a bottom, and capable of transporting one or two people on the river. The court in 2009 found Lambert’s raft was not merely a toy or air mattress, but a means of transportation subject to the statutory prohibition against operating boat while intoxicated.
Whether you practice law in the city, suburbs or a rural area, it’s imperative to understand what qualifies as a vehicle in impaired driving. I encourage you to look to state and local laws.
A version of this article originally appeared in the ABA Judicial Division’s publication Highway to Justice. It has been revised and edited.
Leslie Maddox is a retired Forsyth County state court judge in Georgia and now judge emeritus who provides judicial assistance across the state. Since 2023, she has served as the ABA’s judicial outreach liaison in Georgia, where she provides judicial education on impaired driving.
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