Over half of Netherlands residents sometimes get on their bikes while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That is prohibited and dangerous, but half think that they can cycle safely while drunk, and a quarter even consider it normal to do so, De Telegraaf reports based on a survey by Insurer Univé among a thousand adult respondents.
“Many people think: oh, I’m going to drink, so I’ll take the bike,” Yara Basta, the chair of the Association of Emergency Physicians and an emergency room doctor at the Flevoziekenhus in Almere, told the newspaper. She treats many young adults who fell off their bikes while drunk, especially over weekends. “They much more often have injuries to their face or brain. In typical bike accidents, people catch themselves, which can cause them to break a wrist or dislocate their arm, for example. Drunk people don’t have that reflex.”
Basta thinks there should be more attention for drunk cycling. “It requires information about the medical, financial, and legal consequences. And perhaps enforcement, because wagging a finger alone doesn’t work.”
But road safety organizations are hesitant to act against drunk cyclists because they worry that it would lead to an increase in drunk driving. “In a car, you are a danger to yourself and others. In the event of an accident, the consequences are often incalculable,” Willemijn Pomper of Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) told the Telegraaf. “Drunk on a bike, you are mainly a danger to yourself.”
But that does not mean the VVN condones drunk cycling. Everyone should participate in traffic without alcohol, the organization said.
“Riding a bicycle under the influence is punishable. Not every cyclist realizes that. You can get a fine or a driving ban for driving under the influence, also as a cyclist,” Bert van Haaften of the National Police said. “The amount of the fine is determined by the public prosecutor. It is not a minor offense. It is a crime and, in addition to a fine, will also result in a criminal record.”