One of the beautiful things about Louisiana is that you can always find a drinking buddy. Your neighbors are willing to share their stash of beer, and if you are just visiting Louisiana, strangers easily become friends once the beverages begin to flow. It is also a long-standing fact that virtually everyone in Louisiana, at least everyone you have a chance of meeting, is flat broke and will remain so for the foreseeable future. This week, the Newsweek website published this year’s list of the most financially distressed states in the country, and to the surprise of no one, Louisiana once again ranks in the top five.
If you are looking for generous people to share their booze with you, you can find them here, but do not expect that anyone at your impromptu drinking party has a car in which to give you a ride home. This means that you must get yourself home in the same manner in which you arrived, namely by riding your bicycle. The good news is that, by doing this, you do not risk getting a DUI, but the bad news is that you risk getting hit by a car, which, if you had been sober, you would have been able to avoid. If you got hit by a car while riding your bicycle after a day of drinking, contact a Houma car accident lawyer.
The crime of driving under the influence (DUI) applies when someone operates a motor vehicle while the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) exceeds the legal limit of 0.08%. The motor vehicle in question could be a car, truck, motorcycle, or even a golf cart. Bicycles are not motor vehicles. Therefore, you cannot get a DUI if you ride a bicycle when you are under the influence of alcohol. Despite this, it is dangerous to ride a bike after drinking.
Louisiana is a comparative negligence state. This means that insurance companies that process injury claims and courts that rule on personal injury lawsuits do not always assign the fault for the accident to just one party. If a car hits a bicycle, it is possible that the driver of the car and the bicyclist can each bear a share of the fault for the accident. If you were drunk when the car hit your bike, it is unlikely that the court will assign 100 percent of the fault for the accident to you. It is likely, however, that the court will assign some of the fault to you. This means that it will reduce your compensation for your accident-related losses by the percentage of fault that belongs to you.
A personal injury lawyer can help you if you were hit by a car while riding your bicycle. Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey in Houma, Louisiana, to set up a consultation about your case.
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