Bizarre

Is It DWI If You’re On a Horse?

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

This is a question faced by many municipalities. That question will be answered in Austin, Texas, where two men were arrested this week for DWI while one was riding a horse and the other was riding a mule. It is perfectly legal to ride a horse in downtown Austin. The two were arrested on E. 6th Street, the where-it’s-happening place in Austin.

The men were luring people out of bars to take pictures and pet the animals.

Commander Jason Dusterhoft, of the Austin Police Department stated:

The law has recently changed and the motor vehicle definition is a little ambiguous, but they felt that it would fit that criteria.

That is one hell of an ambiguity.

It seems that the DWI charges have been dropped in lieu of public intoxication.

H/T: KVUE-TV (with video).

23 thoughts on “Is It DWI If You’re On a Horse?”

  1. Pingback: Only In Texas: Men Arrested For DWI On A Horse « ilovehou

  2. In the olden days, was not a motor running smoothly said to be purring like a kitten? That means a kitten must have a motor. A motor motivates what it motors, the kitten’s purring means it is motivated by its motor, which is made of its muscles.

    To borrow a line from My Cousin Vinny, spoken by the expert witness having general automotive knowledge,

    “The defense is wrong.”

    Meanwhile, in my dictionary-at-hand, a device includes “an invention serving a particular purpose.” Given my biology education, I find that evolution invented horses. Therefore, horses are an invention of the process of evolution, and all horses are devices. A particular purpose, in retrospect, of a horse is being a device ridden by an intoxicated person.

    High Hoe, the Merry Owe, to the Slammer we go.

    Ain’t it jest wunnerfull thet words have plane meaning?

  3. Vodka and cranberry on a mule shows just how much Austin has changed

    “The law doesn’t support DWI on an animal,” said County Attorney David Escamilla, explaining why the charge didn’t hold up. “It has to be a motor vehicle or device. And our research shows a mule is not a motorized vehicle. To be absolutely sure, I watched a few episodes of ‘The Lone Ranger,’ and not once did I hear the masked man refer to Silver as a device.”
    …
    But both men will now face charges of public intoxication from Austin police.

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