Yes. Riding a bicycle or a motorized scooter under the influence is illegal in California, but each has its own statute punishable only by a fine of up to $250, far less than a car DUI. A moped, or an e-bike modified so it no longer meets the legal definition, can instead bring the regular DUI law that applies to drivers.

Why a plain bicycle is not a car DUI

The main DUI statute makes it unlawful to drive a ‘vehicle’ while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both (Vehicle Code section 23152), and the Vehicle Code’s definition of ‘vehicle’ leaves out a device moved exclusively by human power (Vehicle Code section 670). A general rule gives bicycle riders the rights and duties of drivers, including the rules on driving under the influence (Vehicle Code section 21200), but the Legislature wrote a specific bicycle statute that applies ‘notwithstanding’ that general rule: riding a bicycle upon a highway under the influence of alcohol or drugs is punished by a fine of not more than $250 (Vehicle Code section 21200.5). The Vehicle Code lists that offense as a misdemeanor, not an infraction, even though the statute’s only penalty is a fine (Vehicle Code section 40000.13).

Testing works differently too. A rider arrested under the bicycle statute may ask for a blood, breath, or urine test, and the officer must then have it performed (Vehicle Code section 21200.5). The implied-consent rule that requires a test applies to a person who drives a motor vehicle and is arrested under the vehicle DUI statutes (Vehicle Code section 23612).

A motorized scooter has a nearly identical statute. The Vehicle Code defines a motorized scooter as a two-wheeled device with handlebars and either a floorboard to stand on or a seat and footrests, powered by a motor (Vehicle Code section 407.5); a typical stand-up electric rental scooter fits that description. Operating one upon a highway under the influence carries the same $250 maximum fine, and an arrested rider may ask for a blood or breath test (Vehicle Code section 21221.5). Unlike the bicycle offense, the scooter offense is not on the Vehicle Code’s misdemeanor lists, so it is an infraction (Vehicle Code section 40000.1). Both statutes apply only to riding ‘upon a highway,’ which the Vehicle Code defines as a way or place publicly maintained and open to the public for vehicular travel, including a street (Vehicle Code section 360).

Where electric bikes fit in

California sorts electric bicycles into three classes, based on whether the motor helps only while you pedal or can move the bike by itself, and on the speed at which the motor stops helping (20 miles per hour for classes 1 and 2, 28 for class 3). Every class must have fully operable pedals and a motor of no more than 750 watts (Vehicle Code section 312.5). The Vehicle Code says an electric bicycle is a bicycle (Vehicle Code section 231), and a person riding one is subject to the same bicycle rules, including the fine-only DUI statute (Vehicle Code section 312.5).

The same section says certain devices are not electric bicycles at all: one modified to go faster than 20 miles per hour on motor power alone or to have more than 750 watts of motor power, one whose operable pedals have been removed, and one its manufacturer intended to be modifiable in those ways (Vehicle Code section 312.5). Because the code’s bicycle definition covers only human-powered devices and qualifying e-bikes (Vehicle Code section 231), a device outside the e-bike definition is not a bicycle for the fine-only statute. It has a motor, so it is a ‘vehicle,’ and the regular DUI statute can apply to it as it does to the mopeds described next.

Mopeds and other motor-powered devices

A motorized bicycle or moped is a two- or three-wheeled device with fully operative pedals (or no pedals, if it runs solely on electricity), an automatic transmission, and a motor producing less than 4 gross brake horsepower that can reach no more than 30 miles per hour on level ground (Vehicle Code section 406). A typical moped is not a bicycle, because the code’s bicycle definition covers only human-powered devices and qualifying e-bikes (Vehicle Code section 231), and the motorized scooter definition expressly excludes it (Vehicle Code section 407.5). So neither fine-only statute covers it. Because a moped is not moved exclusively by human power, it is a ‘vehicle’ (Vehicle Code section 670), and the main DUI statute makes it unlawful to drive a vehicle under the influence (Vehicle Code section 23152). A moped rider can therefore be charged under the same DUI law that applies to a car driver.

A license consequence for young bicycle riders

The bicycle statute adds that violations ‘are subject to Section 13202.5’ (Vehicle Code section 21200.5). That section requires a court to suspend for one year the driving privilege of a person convicted of a covered alcohol or drug offense committed at age 13 to 20, or, if the person has no license yet, to delay it for one year after the person becomes eligible (Vehicle Code section 13202.5). Its own list of covered offenses names the vehicle DUI statutes but not the bicycle statute, so how a court applies the cross-reference to a bicycle conviction is a question for your lawyer. The motorized scooter statute has no similar cross-reference (Vehicle Code section 21221.5).

What changes the answer

  • What you were riding, since a moped or a modified e-bike falls outside the fine-only statutes.
  • For a bicycle or scooter charge, whether you were on a highway (a publicly maintained way open to vehicle traffic) rather than purely private property.
  • Your age, if the charge is under the bicycle statute, because of its cross-reference to the under-21 license rule.
  • Whether there was a collision. Bicycle riders and scooter operators also carry drivers’ duties after an accident (Vehicle Code section 21200; Vehicle Code section 21221), so leaving after a crash that injures someone can bring a separate hit-and-run charge. The firm’s page on DUI causing injury covers the more serious offense of injuring someone while driving a vehicle under the influence.

If you were cited while riding a bicycle, e-bike, or scooter, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review which statute actually applies to your device. Call (800) 755-5174.