I found this interesting that you can get 7 years for a Felony DUI crash on a bicycle.
He had 4 previous DUIs was riding a bicycle at the time.
In the end he pleaded guilty and got 42 days in jail, 500 dollar fine and 2 years probation.
I don't condone his actions, but you have to wonder where are all those people spending 7 years in jail for felony DUI crashes that don't involve injury? Maybe a bigger question is what happens if you Kill someone. What another seven years.

https://www.dailyhDrunk cyclist pleads guilty to avoid 7 years in jail
By Charles Keeshan | Daly Herald StaffPublished: 3/28/2008 11:37 AM | Updated: 3/28/2008 11:37 AMSend To:

Charles Braun says he simply was taking advantage of a beautiful day last April when he hopped aboard his bicycle and rode to a McHenry County forest preserve to spend some time in nature.

Unfortunately for him, Braun's was no ordinary bicycle and the Oakwood Hills man was in no ordinary state of mind.

Braun, authorities say, was enjoying his ride through nature intoxicated at a level almost 3 times the legal limit for driving a motor vehicle.

That might not have been a problem if not for the small motor propelling his black Schwinn - and his four prior DUI violations.

It became a big problem when the bicycle swerved into traffic and collided with a car, leaving Braun not only with a dislocated shoulder but also facing felony drunk driving charges that could have put him in a state prison for seven years.

Braun, 44, avoided that fate today by pleading guilty to a reduced DUI charge that spares him a prison sentence and instead places him on non-reporting probation for the next two years.

Although he maintained today that the charges against him were "a joke," Braun said he took the plea deal because a conviction on the initial aggravated DUI charges would have left him facing a mandatory three to seven years in prison.

"I'm not going to gamble with that," he said. "I'll save my gambling for the riverboat."

Contrary to his prior claims, Braun admitted today that his bike's small, two-cycle engine was running when he crashed on an Oakwood Hills road on April 21. But the motor, he said, propelled the bike at no more than 10 to 15 miles per hour, a speed he just as easily could have reached by pedaling.

"It's not like I was on the tollway doing 80 mph," he said. "It's a toy."

Prosecutors, however, said Braun's decision to go for a bike ride while drunk endangered not only himself, but everyone else on the roads that day.

"In this case he only hurt himself, but the laws are there to protect the public and he was a public safety hazard," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein said.

Braun's plea agreement also requires him to pay a $500 fine and undergo DUI counseling. He was sentenced to 42 days in jail as part of the deal, but that was time served.
erald.com/story/?id=161997

So in the end he is paying $500 and going to counseling.
That seems a reasonable, if not low, result.

He says he would have done the same with no motor, but really? I'd bet he would not be going for these plastered pleasure rides if it were not for the fact he could do it under motor power.

Al

5 DUIs? And he hasn't figured it out yet? Sounds to me like the guy has "unresolved issues" one of them with alcohol.

Well on the plus side, he wasn't driving a car...

True.

Drunk: "Bikes are toys!"

*Gavel does down*

Judge: "2 years probation!"

Sounds like a good pro-cycling ad campaign .

Who wants to bet that his nature ride route, goes directly to the liquor store.

He should have gotten the seven years for that statement alone.

I think the issue is the motor. Once you make a vehicle anything other than human powered, you greatly increase the risk of operating it while intoxicated.

If my BAC is 3 times the legal limit, chances are that any attempt to operate an unmotorized bicycle would result in a few feet of pedaling followed by a very low speed fall. However, if I were to put a motor on that bicycle, then I might be able to get to speed in spite of my level of intoxication.

+1!