Florida Man Crashes eBike In Crosswalk, Gets Super Bowl Sunday DUI
Can you get a DUI on an eBike? The specifics vary by state. But in Florida, the answer is a resounding “Yes.”
A Winter Springs PD officer watched a man “wipe out” on an eBike at 3 a.m. the day after the Super Bowl. They later specified that it was a “slow-motion fall” backward off the bike as he entered a crosswalk. But he “was laying down for a while.”
Winter Sprins PD investigates eBike DUI
Police investigated. “We followed him down the sidewalk and he was wobbling.” When the officers caught up with 34-year-old Kyle Blanton, they claim they “smelled something” like alcohol from him. He was also slurring his speech. But his excuse for the crash? He was trying to show off. He claimed he wasn’t intoxicated at all.
Winter Springs PD already had enough evidence to arrest him on suspicion of a DUI.
At the facility, Blanton declined to take a breathalyzer test. He may have heard that you can decline a roadside breathalyzer test in 46 states. But once you’ve already been arrested on suspicion of a DUI, declining has serious consequences.
As eBikes get faster, various states are debating whether their riders should face similar laws to motorcyclists and can face DUI charges. But in Florida, it doesn’t matter. Florida law 316.003 declares that a regular bicycle—propelled solely on human power—is a vehicle, and thus its rider can get a DUI.
You can see the Winter Springs PD body cam footage embedded below:
