We hear of DUI arrests all the time but a DUI by way of a riding mower instead of a vehicle? It happened in eastern Cumberland County yesterday. Deputies responded the 1500^th block of Mount Vernal Road for a reported intoxicated male mowing a yard that was not his. The arrest report says 57-year-old Rickie Lee Brown of Rockwood was found sitting on a zero turn lawnmower drinking an alcoholic beverage. Brown allegedly failed a field sobriety test. Brown reportedly told the officer he rode the mower from the 1400 to the 1500^th block of the road and started mowing a yard not his because it “looked trashy.” Brown was charged with DUI.

While being charged with DUI on a riding mower is rare, it is considered a DUI offense according to state law:

Tennessee Code 55-10-401 – Driving under the influence of intoxicant, drug or drug producing stimulant prohibited Alcohol concentration in blood or breath.

(a)  It is unlawful for any person to drive or to be in physical control of any automobile or other motor driven vehicle (riding mower qualifies under other motor driven vehicle) on any of the public roads and highways of the state, or on any streets or alleys, or while on the premises of any shopping center, trailer park or any apartment house complex, or any other premises that is generally frequented by the public at large, while:

(1)  Under the influence of any intoxicant, marijuana, narcotic drug, or drug producing stimulating effects on the central nervous system; or

(2)  The alcohol concentration in the person’s blood or breath is eight-hundredths of one percent (.08 %) or more.

(This story comes from the arrest report by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department)