Most people are aware of Minnesota’s law prohibiting driving while impaired. This blog has discussed many news reports concerning DWI charges. Recently, an entry discussed a University of Minnesota survey of students regarding bicycling. While a non-motorized bike is not considered a motorized vehicle, some people may not understand how broadly Minnesota prosecutors seek to apply Minnesota’s harsh DWI laws.
With the parade of seasons that we enjoy in Minnesota comes a parade of different types of vehicles. In the winter, many Minnesotans continue to ride All Terrain Vehicles. Snowmobiles are also common in the winter-at least in those years when there is sufficient snow to sled. In the summer, boats are common, as is the use of golf carts.
All of these vehicles can be involved in a Minnesota DWI case. Recently, a Minnesota man was charged with DWI in a golf cart. Sources claim that the whole thing was about a dare.
The story takes us to an apartment complex near Minnesota State University in Mankato. Police claim that a 19-year-old Richfield, Minnesota man had pulled out of the apartment complex parking lot in Mankato on a golf cart. The officers say that the golf cart pulled onto a boulevard and eventually onto the lawn of an apartment complex in Mankato, but the cart became stuck on a pile of gravel.
Mankato Police claim that the young man tried to run away from the golf cart, but police apprehended him and arrested the young man. Authorities accuse the man of DWI, fleeing police on foot, obstruction of justice, careless driving and underage consumption. Officials claim that the young man said that he was on the cart only because of a dare.
Source: Mankato Free Press, “Cart dare leads to DWI arrest,” Oct. 1, 2012