- Drunk cycling: everything you need to know about what the law says
- Avoiding roads and sticking to bridleways instead? You can still be prosecuted
- Could face a £1,000 fine - but you won't get points on licence
- BUT - in rare cases you could lose your licence
- Select says; 'Don't take the risk!'
(AdobeStock)
Cycling home from the pub while drunk could see you hit with a £1,000 fine - and you could even lose your driving licence in rare circumstances.
That’s according to motoring and legal experts who are warning revellers to be mindful of the law this summer.
Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car leasing, says drink cycling can be prosecuted under section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
And you don’t even need to be cycling on a road to be caught out.
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The legislation states: “A person who, when riding a cycle on a road or other public place, is unfit to ride through drink or drugs (that is to say, is under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the cycle) is guilty of an offence.”
Mr Conway adds: “The key phrase in that law is ‘road or other public place’. That ‘public place’ could be a bridleway or pathway, which means you’re not exempt from prosecution just because you’re avoiding the road.
“Prosecutions are low in comparison with drink driving, but the latest stats from the Ministry of Justice show how more than 60 individuals were prosecuted for drink cycling between 2014 and 2023. That’s not an insignificant number of people.
“Being drunk in charge of a bicycle puts yourself and others at risk. Don’t take the risk - just jump in a taxi instead.”
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Dominic Smith, Director at leading UK motoring solicitors Patterson Law, says drink cycling carries a maximum ‘Level 3’ fine of £1,000.
Drink driving, on the other hand, sees motorists handed a minimum 12 month ban, a possible community order or prison custody if the case is serious enough, and an unlimited fine.
If you’re caught intoxicated on a bike there’s no risk of having penalty points put on your driving licence. Mr Smith also stresses that cases where cyclists are prosecuted for being drunk at the handlebars are rare.
Yet a court does have discretion, under Section 163 of the Sentencing Act, to impose a driving disqualification for any offence at all - even non-road traffic offences. And that includes being drunk on a bike.
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Speaking to Select Car Leasing, Mr Smith explained: “It’s a power that’s exercised rarely and typically reserved for specific cases, but a court could, technically, impose a discretionary driving disqualification under Section 163 of the Sentencing Act. That particular section allows a Court to impose a disqualification for any offence at all, even non-road traffic offences.”
Unlike drink driving, there’s no set alcohol limit for cycling and you’re unlikely to be asked to provide a breath or blood test to assess how much alcohol is in your system.
What police will assess, however, is whether or not you’ve got ‘proper control of the cycle’. If you’re intoxicated to the point of being incapable of riding safely, you risk prosecution.
(AdobeStock)
Select Car Leasing’s Mr Conway adds: “The most likely scenario leading to a prosecution for drink cycling is that you’re either reported by a member of the public or observed by a police officer directly. Those extra couple of pints in the pub beer garden really could end up costing you dearly.”
Besides being prosecuted for cycling when under the influence of drink or drugs, cyclists can also be charged with ‘careless or inconsiderate cycling’ or ‘dangerous cycling’.
Of these offences, dangerous cycling carries the highest penalty, being a level 4 offence that attracts a maximum fine of £2,500.
Cyclists have also been convicted for causing bodily harm by ‘wanton and furious driving’ of a ‘vehicle’ (in these cases, a bicycle) under section 35 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.
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