Things You Can Drive Drunk in North Carolina
No, I’m not encouraging anybody to drive anything under the influence, but it’s curious how the state legislature has made distinctions among different methods of conveyance when it comes to driving while impaired laws. According to the law, it’s perfectly legal to use the following three ways of getting around when you’re smashed:
There’s no law against the horse being drunk either.
Horses: When writing the DWI statute, the state legislature chose to specifically carve out an exception that allows you to ride a horse drunk (N.G.G.S § 20-138.1(e)). You can’t get drunk and ride a bicycle down the road, but you absolutely CAN get drunk and ride a horse down the road. That makes no sense to me, but obviously the alcoholic cowboy lobby has a lot more influence over at the state house than I would have thought.
Wheelchairs: The driving while impaired statute also contains a specific exception, in the way the word “vehicle” is defined (N.G.G.S §20-4.01(49)), for driving a motorized wheelchair drunk. You can’t drive a golf cart down the road drunk. You can’t ride a lawnmower down the road drunk. But, if your mobility is impaired (note: it’s unclear if this includes being too drunk to stand up), the North Carolina General Assembly thought it was important to give you the right to get loaded and go for a cruise around town in your motorized wheelchair. I always thought those elderly ladies yelling “Hoveround!” in that commercial seemed like they were having a little too much fun and now I know why.
“I’ve made a huge mistake.”
Segways: The North Carolina Court of Appeals has determined (State v. Crow, 623 S.E.2d 68 (2005)) that riding a motorized scooter with handlebars drunk subjects you to a DWI charge, but riding a Segway drunk does not. The decision is based on the legislature’s odd exception to the DWI laws for “electric personal assistive mobility devices” which are specifically excluded from the definition of a “vehicle” (N.G.G.S § 20-4.01(49)). The applicable part of the definition of such a device is that it must be “a self-balancing nontandem two-wheeled device” ((N.G.G.S § 20-4.01(7a)). According to the Court, a Segway meets that definition, but a motorized scooter is neither self-balancing nor nontandem (it is tandem because the wheels are one behind the other). Based on that bizarre technical requirement, your Segway tour of Raleigh can include stops at every bar in town, but if you did the same thing on a motorized scooter, you would be arrested.
Disclaimer: This article should not be construed as an encouragement for anyone reading it to get hammered and then ride horses, wheelchairs or Segways out into traffic. If you have been consuming alcohol, you should stay away from the road regardless of the circumstances, even if you’re one of the alcoholic cowboys who apparently run this state.
The Garner Lawyer 
Thank you for another informative website. Where else could I get that kind of info written in such a perfect way? I have a project that I am just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.
Heywood, you might also enjoy my post on this subject. http://www.keepdurhamdifferent.com/2009/05/drinking-and-driving.html