An old party tradition is to place your car keys in the hands of a friend to prevent drunk driving. Placing the handle bars of a bicycle in the hands of a friend is not as common, but the law means you might want to consider it.

Ohio law says it is illegal to be in control of a vehicle when you are under the influence of alcohol. Cyclists are expected to follow the same rules automobiles do while in operation.

The definition of a vehicle includes various forms of transportation like bicycles, tractors, riding lawnmowers and golf carts.

This type of law could be seen as an inconvenience to college students who are looking for a safer way to get home after a night on the town.

Greg Henny, senior, was pulled over on his bike one night when he was coming home from the bars.

Henny was swerving back and forth on Manville Road and there was a cop on the side of the street who saw him biking.

Henny said the officer was very nice to him and explained he pulled him over because of his reckless control of his bike.

“I explained to the officer I was playing it safe by taking my bike instead of my car when I went out,” he said. “I was a block away from home and he followed me to make sure I made it home safe and he gave me a verbal warning.”

Ohio code 4511.19 states “no person shall operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this state, if, at the time of the operation, the person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.”

Lt. Tony Hetrick, of the Bowling Green Police Department, explained that a bike meets the definition of a vehicle so it would be included in the law.

“Only once in 11 years I have ever personally seen it happen,” Hetrick said. “The man was a hazard and he was stopped by a state trooper and arrested.”

Many people are unaware the laws you abide by when you are driving a car also apply when you are on a bike. Bowling Green police officers are known to pull over cyclists when they are not obeying the law.

Ryan Carr, senior, bikes on the trails and in town several times a week and was pulled over on the Slippery Elm Trail in Bowling Green.

“After biking for nearly 20 miles I was on the home stretch when to my surprise I found a state park police officer chasing me in his cruiser,” Carr said. “He pulled me over because I had run a few stop signs on the trail, which is out in the country where you can see for miles in both directions.”

Carr was given a written warning and told he would be cited the next time it happened.

Jason Grinnell was a graduate student when he was pulled over for biking on a sidewalk in town. He was given a verbal warning from the officer.

Grinnell was aware cyclists are to use the roads and not the sidewalks in Bowling Green, but chose the sidewalk for his own safety.

“I was only on the sidewalks because there is a lack of consideration for bikers from the drivers in Bowling Green,” Grinnell said.