So often when people try to contact me, they give me some questions like "Can you get a DUI on a bike" (yes, but general consensus if you have to be a real asshole to a cop to get one), to "Can you get a DUI on a horse?" (No), and more.

I haven't been asked if you can get a DUI on one of those electric scooters (Bird, Lime, etc.) that have been buzzing all around Santa Monica and other places, but now we have the first conviction of somebody for a DUI on a scooter.

"City Atty. Mike Feuer said his office had secured a misdemeanor conviction against Nicholas Kauffroath, 28, who was riding a Bird scooter on a sidewalk in West L.A. when he knocked a pedestrian to the ground and scooted away to a nearby apartment building without stopping to render aid."

Now, like I mentioned with the bicycle… you have to be kind of asking for it. So far they haven't been doing checkpoints for scooters besides issuing tickets for people riding them in restricted areas. Hitting somebody and zipping off… that's asking for it. That's a hit-and-run. That's more being buzzed on a scooter.

"Kauffroath, who did not return a request for comment, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $550 fine, Feuer said. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim, complete a three-month DUI program, and stay off scooters while drinking."

What's interesting is that while these scooters require you to have a drivers license… it doesn't look like Kauffroath will have a suspension or an interlock placed on his regular vehicle. He's getting a standard DUI class for a first offender, a higher than normal fine, and a normal probation. A big penalty for a stupid mistake.

So don't drink and drive and ride a Bird or Lime around. You won't catch me on one of those things, they go too fast and drivers are bad enough when you're surrounded by 2000 pounds of metal.

Tags: dui