We’ve all done at one time or another: grabbed a beer or two, fired up the tractor, and started cutting the grass. The next thing you know you’re mowing through your wife’s vegetable garden and taking out garden gnomes left, right and center. That’s when you know you’ve had a few too many and should save the rest of the lawn mowing until tomorrow, when you’ve sobered up.

No harm, no foul and once your wife calms you’ll off the couch.

However, if you decide, while mowing the lawn in a drunken stupor, to ride your John Deere down to the local hardware store and take it out on the road, well, you’re guilty of drunk driving.

That’s right. Police can and will cite you for drunk driving if you are operating any type of machinery on public roads while intoxicated. It doesn’t matter if it’s your car, truck or tractor. You’ll still be cited for drunk driving, no ifs, ands or buts.

This is exactly what happened to George Barkley of Steuben County, New York. Only instead of a John Deere he was driving a Craftsman tractor. Police don’t care what kind of tractor you are driving–just whether or not you are doing it while intoxicated. For Barkley, as for anyone busted for operating a motorized vehicle on public streets while intoxicated, he was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. (Barkley was also charged with driving without a license and is still sitting in the county jail.)

If you are charged with driving under the influence of alcohol you will face arrest, fines, fees, points added to your license and suspension of your driving privileges. All of this adds up to a single lesson: Don’t drive anything while drunk. You might not think you’ll do any harm, but it’s still illegal and you can be arrested and charged for it.

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