Don't limit yourself. Hawaii makes Cali look like Camelot.

I'm not disagreeing with the point that the power boat is at fault, but here in WI, we just had a case where a person who had been drinking (can't remember if he was over or under the limit), hit and paralyzed a teenage girl after dark. Everyone was up in arms about stringing this guy up and making him pay for his sins. Turns out the girl was walking down the middle of the road with some friends and was wearing all dark clothes (read no running lights). The girls friend who was with her, testified that she made no effort to move out of the cars way and 3 other vehicles "almost" hit her before this guy picked her off. The charges for hitting the girl were dropped and the driver was only charged with the drinking offense or inattentive driving or something like that.

Not legal in the US. This may be a local or state law, but I've heard of at least one city where this will get you a citation at a minimum.

Mike

Many states recognize any vehicle (including bikes) and you can be charged with DUI, DWI, carless and/or reckless driving, speeding, etc...

Can I walk home while being drunk ?

Wouter

Don’t be SILLY, of course you can! BUT you can be charged with drunk in public...., drunk and disorderly and i am sure other laws, depending on the town/state. Welcome to the Litigious US of A

only if you wear a helmet, knee pads and a flashy reflector

There are a lot of things you can do while drunk. Many of them are not a good idea, whether or not they may be legal...

I remember one poor dude in college that got so drunk that he passed out in a snow bank on the walk back to his room. Luckily, someone found him before he froze to death, but he still spent some time in the hospital, between thawing and detox it couldn't have been pretty.

Holy hijack...

Mike

I work for a relatively small municipality and an older man who lives there was cited for DUI while operating a....wait for it.....here it comes......A SEGWAY!!!!!!!!! Not sure what happened or if went to court.

and don't forget about the urinating in public rule. They don't like that

Chances are they won't give you a hard time depending on your attitude; however, if they feel you are intoxicated to a point where you present a danger to yourself or others then yes, chances are your going for a ride to the "drunk tank" to sober up and get a $50 D & D (CPC 647 f “Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor…Who is found in any public place under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, controlled substance, toluene, or any combination of any intoxicating liquor, drug, controlled substance, or toluene, in a condition that he or she is unable to exercise care for his or her own safety or the safety of others, or by reason of his or her being under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, controlled substance, toluene, or any combination of any intoxicating liquor, drug, or toluene, interferes with or obstructs or prevents the free use of any street, sidewalk, or other public way.”

There use to be a time they would just give you a ride home, but with all the law suits etc... many police department just follow the procedure to cover their own butts.

A study in San Francisco determined that the majority of people who fell off piers along the waterfront did so while taking a leak.

It's situations like this that put more pressure on sailing participation.

Has US Sailing gotten involved with this case? This is the sort of thing a lobby group/organisation should be taking an interest in.

Given the state of USS at this time, I suspect that you have to be a member before you can be in an accident as well.....

hah!

30 years ago when I moved to a suburb between Washington DC & Baltimore MD, the authorities arrested a "local" for being under the influence on a horse. He was leaving a bar with the alias of "Bloody Bucket".

Kris

From comedian Ron White:

I was not drunk in pub-lic, officer, I was drunk in a bar, and the bouncer THREW ME OUT INTO THE PUB-LICK

never gets old.... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

From Latitude 38

http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2008-06-12&dayid=127

In just the next chapter in the book on complete crap justice in California, on Wednesday Judge Richard Martin ruled there was enough evidence for 39-year-old Bismarck Dinius of Sacramento to stand trial on charges of vehicular manslaughter in the April 29, 2006, boating accident on Clear Lake that resulted in the death of Lynn Thornton.

In a world where there was even a smidgen of justice, Judge Martin would have stopped the four-day hearing during the first 10 minutes to excoriate the Lake County District Attorney for charging the wrong man with the crime.

For as the outrage now stands, Deputy Sheriff Russell Perdock, who on that dark night slammed his high-powered speedboat into the quarter of the sailboat that Thornton was on at an admitted 40 to 45 mph — and perhaps as fast as 60 mph — hasn't been charged with anything!

Even a moron in robes would have recognized that Thornton would not have been killed, let alone injured, had Perdock not been violating the most basic rules of the road. Even a moron in robes would have recognized that Thornton would not have been killed, let alone injured, had Perdock followed even the most basic notion of common sense.

We ask all of you to put yourselves, as ordinary citizens, in Perdock's blood-soaked boat shoes. If you'd been operating your boat at 40 to 45 mph on a pitch black lake at night, knowing full well that there were often boats and rafts on the lake after dark, and slammed into a stationary boat, killing a woman, do you think the District Attorney would have patted you on the back and said, "Don't worry about it, you didn't do anything wrong"? Or do you think he would have kicked your butt in jail and thrown away the key? And if that was the case for you, do you think it was or should be any different if the negligent boat operator was a colleague of the D.A.'s in law enforcement?

The prosecution's case rests on two main contentions. First, that the running lights of the sailboat in question, Beats Workin' II, were not on. Although the District Attorney apparently didn't want to hear it, at least two witnesses, including a former law enforcement officer, have testified that the sailboat's running lights were on prior to the collision. Second, that Bismarck, who happened to be at the helm as opposed to the owner of the boat, who was a few feet away, had a blood level of .12, which is over the legal limit. It's true that Bismarck should not have been over the limit — a few years back, mind you, he would have been under it — but what's much more important is that even a stone cold sober Russell Coutts couldn't have driven the near motionless sailboat out of the path of Perdock's powerboat roaring at them out of the blackness.

Bismarck Dinius is slated to stand trial this fall . . . unless, against all odds, someone in this entirely corrupt process decides that their vow to stand for truth and justice really means something. That somebody should be former California Governor Jerry Brown, who is currently the Attorney General of the State of California. So what's it going to be Jerry — are you going to just sit there and collect yet another state paycheck, or do you still really give a [censored] about justice? And please give your answer in a loud and clear voice, because we all want to hear your response.

If you'd like to donate to Dinius' defense fund, send checks made out to Bismarck Dinius, writing “Bismarck Dinius Defense Fund” in the memo section, to Sierra Central Credit Union, Attn: Brian Foxworthy, Branch Manager, 306 N. Sunrise Ave., Roseville, CA 95661. You can also email your opinion on this case to the Public Investigations Unit of Mr. Brown's office.

Well Wouter, in Pennsylvania you can't even ride your horse home at nite after a few beers.

http://www.1800duilaws.com/article/drunk_horseback_riding.asp

The bigger problem with this issue is the police (sheriff) trying to coverup the culpability of it's own officers.

I just watched the iTeam report video.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=6200464

That judge really made my blood boil. I wonder if he has ever been on a power boat going 45 mph in the dark. Now that is negligence. You never know what know what you will encounter.... kids on kayaks, unlit marker post, boat in distress with no power.

Even if the stern lights were off, the cabin lights were on and he would have seen them if he was driving a reasonable speed.