"Driving" with a suspended license

Question

Someone I know had their drivers license suspended after a roadside test. Apparently the cop said "you can't even be on a riding mower" while suspended. Now, you don't need a license to use a lawn mower or ride a four wheeler. A child can literally do it, though I'm not sure it's allowed on a road. However, I did read recently about someone being charged with impaired driving on a lawn mower on their own lawn, so it's possible that some of the driving laws extend to driving other than cars. (Let's for the moment stipulate that this non-car driving is not on a road, so you're mowing your lawn or riding a four-wheeler around your own woods.)

So, in Ontario, if you have a drivers license that is suspended (for whatever reason), can you drive things that don't require a license, such as lawnmowers or ATVs? Can you drive things that require a different license (eg a powerboat)? What kinds of driving are off limits when your (regular ordinary car) drivers license is suspended?

Answer 1

new-south-wales

s53 of the Road Transport Act requires a licence to drive a vehicle on a road.

From s4:

"drive" includes-

(a) be in control of the steering, movement or propulsion of a vehicle, and

(b) in relation to a trailer, draw or tow the trailer, and

(c) ride a vehicle.

"vehicle" means-

(a) any description of vehicle on wheels (including a light rail vehicle) but not including any other vehicle used on a railway or tramway, or

(b) any description of tracked vehicle (such as a bulldozer), or any description of vehicle that moves on revolving runners inside endless tracks, that is not used exclusively on a railway or tramway, or

(c) any other description of vehicle prescribed by the statutory rules.

"road" means an area that is open to or used by the public and is developed for, or has as one of its main uses, the driving or riding of motor vehicles.

By s5, “road” includes a “road related area”:

"road related area" means-

(a) an area that divides a road, or

(b) a footpath or nature strip adjacent to a road, or

(c) an area that is open to the public and is designated for use by cyclists or animals, or

(d) an area that is not a road and that is open to or used by the public for driving, riding or parking vehicles, or

(e) a shoulder of a road, or

(f) any other area that is open to or used by the public and that has been declared under section 18 to be an area to which specified provisions of this Act or the statutory rules apply.

So, yes, it includes a ride-on mower if it is being driven on the road, noting that the footpath in front of your property is a road related area and therefore part of the road. If you drive it wholly within private property, you don’t need a licence.

Also included are ATVs, mobility scooters, electric bikes and scooters (above a specific power) etc. it does not include watercraft (or aircraft) because they are subject to a seperate licensing regime and suspension of one does not normally mean suspension of the other.

Answer 2

switzerland

I can't find evidence for the first part of the question (only some pages suggesting that you cannot drive your lawnmower on a public road while being drunk, but that's quite obvious).

As for whether the suspension of the license affects only the driving license or also other licenses (e.g. for boats or aircraft), that depends on why the license was suspended. In particular, if the agency has grounds to assume you are permanently unfit for driving, then they will suspend all your licenses ("Entzug der Fahreignung"). They can even do that prelimary, before a trial was held, to protect others. One reason to get your licenses suspended permanently is when you're found driving with a really high level of alcohol, because in such a case they will assume that you're an alcoholic, which makes you permanently unfit for driving. (Summary of the relevant regulations)

You can only get your license(s) back if you present a positive expertise by a psychologist.

As a side note, this is also the reason why you may loose your driving license if you're found riding a bycicle after too many beers.

In the case mentioned in the question, where the suspension is for a predefined timespan, this would however not apply to other licenses. It wouldn't really make much sense to suspend a pilots license when he was previously caught speeding on the road. Speeding is not normally a crime in aviation. Yet an exception might be if the speeding was reckless, as recklessness is a reason to question your fitness for driving.