We have covered getting a DWI in your driveway, while riding a snowmobile, while riding a motorcycle, while on a horse, and while operating a boat. This time we’ll cover the strangest places and odd stories behind Minnesota—and other states’—driving while intoxicated (DWI) arrests.
Local stories
Recently, Blaine police conducted a DWI traffic stop. The driver was arrested for DWI. However, the passenger in the vehicle put the car in reverse during the arrest that resulted in the vehicle colliding with the officer’s police car. Subsequently, the passenger was also arrested for DWI because he, too, was in physical control of the vehicle while drunk.
Back in February, a driver was arrested for DWI after his vehicle crashed into another vehicle while inside a Chisago County car wash. How does this even happen?
Another man was arrested for his ninth DWI while driving his riding lawnmower. He had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.28—three-and-a-half times the legal limit. To make matters worse, he was driving with a suspended driver’s license courtesy of one of his DWIs. The moral of the story is if you’re intoxicated, don’t drive anything.
Yet another Minnesota man received a DWI for driving his motorized La-Z-Boy recliner to and from a local bar. He installed a lawnmower engine, and the chair was decked out with a radio, headlight, cup holder, and National Hot Rod Association sticker. He attracted police attention after crashing his chair into another vehicle—a real car—and was arrested and charged with DWI for his efforts and poor decision making.
Finally, back in 2012, an ice rink attendant in Apple Valley drew attention to himself for weaving a Zamboni across the ice, slurring his words, and looking intoxicated. The 34-year-old man had failed field sobriety tests, had a BAC four times the legal limit, and had three previous DWI convictions. Minnesota law specifies one can be arrested and charged with DWI for most vehicles with motors, including Zambonis.
Elsewhere in the US
A Pennsylvania man donning a t-shirt that said “Drunk Lives Matter” got a—you guessed it—DUI after police pulled him over for numerous traffic violations that made the officer believe he was, in fact, under the influence. With a BAC of 0.217, he was nearly three times the legal limit. The t-shirt is the epitome of irony.
For more irony, in Nebraska, a teen was arrested for DUI while wearing a breathalyzer costume on Halloween, of course. Police stopped him for erratic driving, knew he was drunk, and arrested him. While searching the vehicle, officers found open containers of alcohol. Further, his BAC was nearly twice the legal limit.
An Ohio man had a stroke of ingenuity when he created a motorized barstool that he drove to the bar, used at the bar, and then drove home from the bar. He attached a steering wheel, four wheels, and a lawnmower engine to his barstool that was welded to a metal frame. When he crashed his barstool while making a U-turn, police arrested and charged him with DUI—this after he voluntarily admitted to drinking 15 beers.
Around the world
In Australia, “eskies” are quite popular. These coolers are motorized as Australia tends to have a pretty big drinking culture. They are comprised of a cooler with wheels, a motor, and handlebars to easily transport drinks. A Perth man decided to drive his esky at night—in a bike lane with no lights. Needless to say, the police pulled him over, discovered that his cooler was filled with assorted alcoholic beverages, and he received a DUI—or should that be a DOI (driving on the influence?)
In England, a man was stopped by police while driving a motorized pink Barbie car. While designed for three-to-five-year-olds, the man and his son had put larger wheels on the vehicle, so, of course, he had to take it for a spin after folding his body to fit in the toy car. He was arrested for DUI, and his BAC was more than twice the legal limit. He was placed on probation and lost his driver’s license for three years—for both real and toy cars.
