Man gets DWI... while driving in a pink electric Barbie car

We all know drunk-driving is bad... but the mental images ARE hysterically funny, you must admit.

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A British man has lost his license, after getting nabbed for drunk driving in an electric Barbie car.

HAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Ha.

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During a court appearance, Hutton admitted to being a "twit."

Also hilarious.

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He says the drive was a part of a project he was doing with his son, who is taking a course on car mechanics.

Yeah. You just keep saying that, buddy.

Just thought I'd leave this here. *gigglesnort*

Mind you, they might do things differently in the UK, but I've never heard of a course on car mechanics that involved learning the ins and outs of children's toy cars.

I do like that he described himself as a 'Twit.' It's always nice to see someone admit they know they've been an idiot.

^It was an electrical engineering course, so I can sort of see how it might be relevant.

I can't see how it's much of an excuse, mind. Twit, indeed.

I'm so glad this danger to society was apprehended and punished.

Penguin wrote:

I'm so glad this danger to society was apprehended and punished.

Yeah, no. He was still dangerous, even driving in that thing. A motorist (or motorists) trying to avoid running into him could have caused an accident with other motorists.

Not to mention the greatly increased risk he was in, not even counting the fact he was intoxicated, since he and his Barbie car would have gotten flattened in a one-on-one collision with a real car.

Lastly, he's getting his license taken away since he had a prior DUI to this one. So he's either got a problem with alcohol or a problem remembering that you can't drive while drunk.

Malganis wrote:

Yeah, no. He was still dangerous, even driving in that thing. A motorist (or motorists) trying to avoid running into him could have caused an accident with other motorists.

And that would've happened if he was just wandering around the street on foot, too. Public intoxication? Yes. DWI? Come on.

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since he and his Barbie car would have gotten flattened in a one-on-one collision with a real car.

And that's the major sticking point in the issue for me. Drunk drivers are almost always a much bigger threat to everyone else than themselves, this primarily being because they are operating a two ton vehicle which has a lot more speed and mass than your average pedestrian, and tend to hit other cars rather than be hit by them. Being in a little plastic toy car, he was much more of a threat to himself than anyone else.

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Lastly, he's getting his license taken away since he had a prior DUI to this one.

It didn't say that in the article, it just said he was losing his license for this DUI.

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So he's either got a problem with alcohol or a problem remembering that you can't drive while drunk.

It's not like toy cars are street legal to begin with, or vehicles that require a license to operate. Getting his license taken away does nothing legally to prevent him from driving that Barbie car.

Penguin wrote:

Malganis wrote:

Yeah, no. He was still dangerous, even driving in that thing. A motorist (or motorists) trying to avoid running into him could have caused an accident with other motorists.

And that would've happened if he was just wandering around the street on foot, too. Public intoxication? Yes. DWI? Come on.

Doesn't matter. Anything that is motorized is considered a motor vehicle under the law. And public intoxication is probably a lesser-included under DWI. Here in the states, probably means the DA would charge him with the DWI, and get him to plead to public intoxication instead. Has happened with folks on riding lawn mowers and those Rascal scooters.

Is "public intoxication" even against the law in the UK? I know it isn't, here.



PS

Penguin wrote:

It didn't say that in the article, it just said he was losing his license for this DUI.

It does, actually.

Spotts1701 wrote:

Doesn't matter. Anything that is motorized is considered a motor vehicle under the law. And public intoxication is probably a lesser-included under DWI. Here in the states, probably means the DA would charge him with the DWI, and get him to plead to public intoxication instead. Has happened with folks on riding lawn mowers and those Rascal scooters.

Yes, I know, the legal system is a travesty.

grmblfjx wrote:

Penguin wrote:

It didn't say that in the article, it just said he was losing his license for this DUI.

It does, actually.

EDIT: Weird margins threw me off. Nonetheless, it doesn't say that he lost his license, he had a suspension before this.

grmblfjx wrote:

Is "public intoxication" even against the law in the UK? I know it isn't, here.

You can be arrested for being Drunk, Drunk and Disorderly or Drunk and Incapable.

Drunk and Disorderly is a criminal offence (I think) and is the most serious, the other two pretty much exist so police can take someone who is potentially a danger to themselves or others, or unable to look after themselves, into custody.

According to Wikipedia:

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It is also an offense to be drunk:
whilst boarding, or whilst on board, an aircraft[
whilst in charge of a child under 7 years old
whilst travelling to a "designated sporting event" (professional football matches) on public transport or a vehicle with eight seats or more

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It is also an offense to be drunk:
whilst boarding, or whilst on board, an aircraft

Shit. I always fly drunk. It's the only way it's tolerable.

Penguin wrote:

grmblfjx wrote:

It does, actually.

EDIT: Weird margins threw me off.

I know, I almost missed it for the same reason.

WD40 wrote:

According to Wikipedia:

There is no such article about Germany, and the article about "alcohol in Germany" only talks about age restrictions. I'm taking that to mean something.

There is a law against being a public nuisance which probably covers the same things as "drunk and disorderly". However, it leads to heartwarming stories such as people shooting porn in a pedestrian zone downtown and the police was helpless because the public didn't feel nuisance-d.