Does drinking and driving extend to tractor drivers?
Think you’re safe driving your John Deere after a few drinks?
It doesn’t take much to drink enough to hit Michigan’s legal blood alcohol limit (.08). For some of us, we can’t even have a full drink, while others can maybe have 1 or 2 drinks. What happens when you have a beer and decide to drive your farm tractor? Could that really be considered drinking and driving?
Could Driving a Tractor After a Beer Really Be Considered Drinking and Driving?
One southwest Michigan man is finding out the hard way that, yes, driving your John Deere tractor after having a few drinks is consider drinking and driving in the law’s eyes. The Detroit Free Press reported,
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a southwestern Michigan man after finding him driving a farm tractor on a county road while drunk. The Van Buren County sheriff’s office says the 49-year-old Paw Paw man was taken into custody around 5 p.m. on Friday in Decatur Township. The deputies spotted the man driving the John Deere tractor in both the northbound and southbound lanes of County Road 665.”
According to MLive’s report on the same incident:
The sheriff’s office has not released the man’s name. It was the driver’s third offense for operating while intoxicated and he was also charged with driving with a suspended license.
Obviously, it is best to not drive after you’ve been drinking, but did you know that even if you put the car in drive and don’t take your foot off the brake that you can be considered drinking and driving?
If you or someone you know has a DUI or OWI, having an experienced and aggressive defense lawyer can be all the difference. If you have any questions about OWI charges and DUI charges, please, call my office at:
248-348-7400 or 586-530-1000
