Snowmobile, ORV and Aircraft OWI Laws in Michigan

Michigan has separate impaired-operation laws for snowmobiles (MCL 324.82127), off-road recreational vehicles or ORVs (MCL 324.81134), and aircraft (MCL 259.185). Snowmobile and ORV riders may not operate under the influence, at 0.08 or more, or with any amount of a Schedule 1 drug or cocaine, and a third offense after 2 or more priors at any time is a felony.^[1][2][3] For aircraft the limit is 0.02, with an 8-hour rule after drinking.^[7] This page summarizes each law and how it relates to the Vehicle Code; boats are covered in operating a boat under the influence.

How these laws relate to the Vehicle Code

The Vehicle Code's OWI ban in MCL 257.625 applies to operating a "vehicle" on a highway or other place open to the general public or generally accessible to motor vehicles.^[8] The Vehicle Code defines "vehicle" as every device in, upon or by which a person may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices moved only by human power or used only on rails.^[9] The Court of Appeals has said that "vehicle" is much broader than "motor vehicle," and held an electric scooter on a highway was covered.^[10][11] The snowmobile and ORV statutes are separate offenses in the natural resources code with their own penalties and their own operating bans.^[1][5] No source read for this guide decides how the Vehicle Code offense and these natural resources offenses interact when a snowmobile or ORV is ridden on a public road.

A common mistake is to copy figures from one statute into another. The natural resources sections differ from the Vehicle Code in their under-21 wording, their visibly-impaired penalties and their bans, so each needs to be read on its own terms.^[12][13]

Snowmobiles

MCL 324.82127 bars operating a snowmobile while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, with 0.08 or more, or with any amount of a Schedule 1 substance or cocaine, and separately bars operating while visibly impaired.^[1][14]

Snowmobile offense	Penalty
OWI, first offense	Misdemeanor: up to 93 days, up to 45 days of community service and/or $100 to $500[1]
OWI within 7 years of a prior	$200 to $1,000 fine plus 10 to 90 days of community service or 48 consecutive hours to 1 year in jail[1]
OWI after 2 or more priors at any time	Felony: 1 to 5 years in prison and/or a $500 to $5,000 fine[1]
Visibly impaired, first offense	Misdemeanor: up to 45 days of community service, 93 days and/or $300[14]
Visibly impaired with priors	$200 to $1,000 fine plus 10 to 90 days of community service or up to 1 year[14]
Causing death / serious impairment	Felony: up to 15 years / up to 5 years[1]
Owner letting an impaired person ride	Misdemeanor: up to 93 days and/or $100 to $500[15]

The court must also order the person not to operate a snowmobile.^[4] For a snowmobile OWI, the ban is 6 months to 2 years with no prior within 7 years and 1 to 2 years with a prior within 7 years, and the person must complete the snowmobile safety education program before riding again.^[4] With 2 or more priors within 10 years, and for causing death or serious impairment, the ban has no expiration date.^[4] A snowmobile OWI carries 6 points on the driving record, and snowmobiling while visibly impaired carries 4.^[6]

Riders under 21 may not have any bodily alcohol content, and no one may ride in violation of these rules with a person under 16 aboard.^[12][16] An under-21 rider's first conviction is a misdemeanor of up to 360 hours of community service and/or a fine up to $250, and up to 93 days in jail becomes possible with a prior within 7 years.^[17] Riding in violation of the adult rules with a child under 16 aboard carries a mandatory $200 to $1,000 fine plus 5 days to 1 year in jail and/or 30 to 90 days of community service, and is a felony within 7 years of a prior or after 2 or more priors at any time.^[18]

Off-road vehicles (ORVs)

MCL 324.81134 bars operating an ORV under the influence, at 0.08 or more, or with any amount of a Schedule 1 substance or cocaine, and separately bars operating while visibly impaired.^[2][13] The ORV penalties for being under the influence or at 0.08 or more are: 1 or more of up to 93 days in jail, a $100 to $500 fine and up to 360 hours of community service for a first offense; a $200 to $1,000 fine plus 5 days to 1 year in jail and/or 30 to 90 days of community service within 7 years of a prior; and, after 2 or more priors at any time, a felony with a $500 to $5,000 fine plus 1 to 5 years in prison or probation with 30 days to 1 year in jail and 60 to 180 days of community service.^[3] That penalty subsection names only the under-the-influence and 0.08 offenses, not the Schedule 1 drug offense.^[3] Unlike the car version, ORV visibly-impaired operation stays at a maximum of 1 year even after 2 or more priors.^[13]

ORV ban (court must order)	No prior in 7 years	Prior(s) in 7 years	2+ priors in 10 years
Under the influence / 0.08 / drugs	6 months to 2 years[5]	1 to 2 years[5]	1 to 2 years[19]
Visibly impaired	90 days to 1 year[20]	6 to 18 months[20]	1 to 2 years[20]
Causing death or serious impairment	No expiration date[5]

Other ORV rules:

• A rider under 21 with any bodily alcohol content commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to 360 hours of community service and/or a $250 fine, rising to up to 93 days with a prior within 7 years.^[21]
• Operating an ORV in violation of these rules with a person under 16 aboard carries a mandatory $200 to $1,000 fine plus jail or community service, and becomes a felony with one prior within 7 years.^[16]
• The owner or person in control may not knowingly let an impaired person operate the ORV; that is a misdemeanor of up to 93 days and/or $100 to $500.^[15]
• Before sentencing, the court must order a substance-abuse screening and assessment, paid for by the person.^[20]
• A person arrested must be told that refusing the chemical test will result in suspension of the right to operate an ORV.^[22]
• An ORV OWI conviction carries 6 points on the driving record.^[6]

Aircraft

Under Michigan's Aeronautics Code, a person may not operate an aircraft or act as a crew member while under the influence, with an alcohol content of 0.02 or more, or within 8 hours after consuming intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.^[7] A first offense is a misdemeanor of up to 93 days and/or $100 to $500.^[7] Within 7 years of a prior conviction the maximum is 1 year and/or $200 to $1,000; within 10 years of 2 or more priors it is a felony of up to 5 years and/or $500 to $5,000.^[23] Causing a death carries up to 15 years and causing serious impairment up to 5 years.^[23] The aircraft felony uses a 10-year window, not the lifetime lookback used for car OWI.^[23][24]

Rules that cut across all three

• Marijuana. Neither the medical nor the recreational marijuana law authorizes operating an aircraft, snowmobile or off-road recreational vehicle while under the influence of marijuana.^[25][26]
• Each death is a separate charge. MCL 769.36 allows a separate charge and conviction for each death in the same incident, with consecutive prison terms possible, for the snowmobile and aircraft OWI-causing-death offenses and for manslaughter or murder involving an ORV, snowmobile or aircraft.^[27] Its ORV cross-reference, "81134(7)," was written before the ORV statute was renumbered in 2015 and now points to the child-passenger subsection rather than the ORV causing-death offense.^[27]
• Minor in possession. ORV and snowmobile OWI convictions count as "prior judgments" for later minor-in-possession enhancement.^[28]
• Specialty court. Repeat-offense jail for snowmobile OWI and ORV OWI may be suspended only if the defendant agrees to and completes a specialty court program.^[29]

For the car rules these laws are measured against, see the full penalties chart, where the OWI law applies, and the under-21 zero-tolerance law.