For one Central Florida man, it was his red lawn mower that did him in.
According to a recent Associated Press news brief, the man was spotted by a Marion County deputy who noticed there was a cup of beer in the cup holder. When stopped, the driver admitted "he'd had a pretty good bit to drink". He refused a breath test and was hit with a Florida DUI charge.
In Punta Gorda, a 63-year-old man was also arrested and charged with DUI after several callers notified 911 there was a man swerving alongside US-41 on his bicycle.
Cpl. Mark Crissinger, of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, told ABC-7 that what you drive or ride doesn't matter. That from a horse to a golf cart to a bicycle, if you're "on the road" you need to obey the law as if you were driving a car.
In the article, Cpl. Crissinger noted that the penalties, the jail time, is the same as if the driver was stopped in a motor vehicle. "Motor or not," Cpl. Crissinger told ABC-7, "he was drunk, he was on the road, he's in jail."
If he has an experienced and aggressive South Florida DUI defense lawyer, Cpl. Crissinger might be singing a different tune. The bottom line is, law enforcement can charge anyone with anything -- that's not what matters. What you are convicted of is what counts, what stays on your criminal record, and what you will have to answer to for years to come.
In many of these cases, public intoxication or other minor misdemeanors are more appropriate -- In other cases, a defendant should never have been charged at all.
In both cases, the drivers have a history of DUI convictions. The lawn mower driver's license is suspended and the Punta Gorda bicyclist's license was revoked in 1997. Prior convictions can make it more difficult to fight drunk driving charges -- another good reason to contest a first-time offense.
These are just two briefs, but there is a countless supply of similar Florida DUI arrest stories out there, from Palm Beach to Miami to Ft. Lauderdale. Stories from the Panhandle to the Keys and from Orlando to Jupiter, about Florida drivers who have been charged with DUI after getting popped by cops while driving something other than a car.
As the end of summer looms and with a long and historically party-friendly holiday weekend quickly approaching, the Florida Highway Patrol has announced a beefed-up FHP presence and a crackdown on drunk driving. The likelihood of even more DUI tales emerging in the media is high.
Just remember: It's not what you are charged with but what you are convicted of -- and the best defense is an aggressive offense.
Ft. Lauderdale DUI Attorney Carlos Canet is an aggressive and experienced drunk driving defense attorney who represents clients facing DUI charges in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. Call 866-7ASKDUI to discuss your rights.
