The Constitutional Tribunal has decided today that it is constitutional for drunk bicyclists to be punished in the same manner as drunk automobile drivers, rather than as drunk pedestrians.
Drunken pedestrians are treated under codes of ‘offensive statutes’ and can face temporary arrest and fines, whereas drunk bikers are treated under the penal code and as criminals.
Poland’s penal code mandates a fine and up to two years in prison, depending on the amount of alcohol in one’s system and one’s ‘ability to manage movement on land, in water or in air.’ The same code applies to drunk drivers on motorbikes and in cars or other vehicles.
The Regional Court in Wschova, in the Lubusz region in western Poland, brought the issue before the Constitutional Tribunal, a judicial body dedicated to resolving disputes on the constitutionality of the activities of state institutions. (mmj/pg/mg)