Yes, you can be charged with DUI on a golf cart, a riding mower, or a side-by-side in Montana if you are on a public road or another place the public commonly uses. The statute covers a "vehicle," and all three can meet that definition. Off the road, the answer for alcohol depends on the place. This page is part of our Montana DUI Guide and builds on our overview of DUI on a horse, bike, ATV, or boat.
The Statute Says Vehicle, Not Car
A person commits DUI by driving or being in actual physical control of "a vehicle" on the ways of this state open to the public while under the influence (MCA § 61-8-1002(1)(a)). A vehicle is "a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway," with exceptions for animal power, rails, and mobility devices for people with disabilities (MCA § 61-1-101). The DUI part adds one more exception, for bicycles.
Nothing in that definition requires registration, a license plate, or highway equipment. That is why the small machines in this article can be vehicles.
How the Code Treats Each Machine
| Machine | Definition | Road rules |
|---|---|---|
| Golf cart | Defined as a motor vehicle designed for use on a golf course, with an average speed under 15 mph | Allowed on a public street only where a local ordinance authorizes it; driver's license and listed equipment required (§ 61-8-391) |
| Side-by-side, UTV, ATV | Off-highway vehicle; a four-wheeled machine with a seat or saddle is a quadricycle | Road use requires local or Highway Patrol authorization or an ordinance, lights, brakes, and generally a driver's license (§ 23-2-824) |
| Low-speed electric vehicle | Four-wheeled motor vehicle with a certified top speed of 20 to 40 mph | A motor vehicle by definition (§ 61-1-101) |
| Riding lawn mower | No definition of its own in the code sections we read | Falls under the general definition of vehicle if it is a device by which a person may be transported on a public highway |
Golf Carts and Riding Mowers
A person may not operate a golf cart on a public street or highway unless a county, city, or town ordinance or regulation specifically authorizes it for streets under that government's jurisdiction. Where it is authorized, the operator must have a valid driver's license, and the cart must have headlamps, a taillamp, a reflector, stop lamps, a horn, and a mirror (MCA § 61-8-391).
Those rules matter to a DUI case in two ways. First, they show the Legislature expects golf carts on some public streets, which puts them squarely within the DUI statute there. Second, a cart on a street without authorization or equipment gives an officer a lawful reason to stop it. On the course itself, the question is whether the area is a way open to the public, discussed below.
Riding mowers are a harder case. The code sections we read do not define a lawn mower or lawn tractor. That leaves the general definition. A riding mower driven down a street is a device on which a person is being transported on a public highway, so on the text it is a vehicle. We want to be clear about the limits of that statement: it is our reading, and we found no Montana Supreme Court decision on a mower DUI.
Side-by-Sides, UTVs, and ATVs
Montana regulates these as off-highway vehicles in Title 23, chapter 2, part 8. We read that part's table of contents and operating sections. It has rules on decals, road crossings, operator responsibility, and operation on public roads. It does not have an impaired-operation section. On a road, then, the law that applies to an impaired operator is the regular DUI statute.
Road use is restricted: operation on a public road or street inside a municipality requires permission from the city, county, or Highway Patrol or a municipal ordinance, a headlamp, a taillamp, and brakes, and the operator must generally carry a driver's license (MCA § 23-2-824). An off-highway vehicle may make a direct crossing of a public road at about a right angle after a complete stop (MCA § 23-2-821). Where a town allows side-by-sides on its streets, the short ride between a bar, a campground, and home is the setting most likely to lead to a DUI stop.
Location: The Street, the Course, and the Back Forty
An alcohol DUI must happen on the ways of this state open to the public, which means any highway, road, alley, lane, parking area, or other public or private place adapted and fitted for public travel that is in common use by the public (MCA § 61-8-102(29)).
- Covered: town streets, county roads, alleys, public parking lots, and private lots the public commonly uses.
- Generally not covered: private property with limited access. The Supreme Court said so in State v. Lapointe, 2025 MT 124.
- Fact questions: cart paths, campground loops, subdivision roads, and trails. Courts look at all the circumstances, including whether a member of the public could reasonably be expected there (State v. Krause, 2021 MT 24).
The provisions on driving under the influence of drugs apply anywhere within the state (MCA § 61-8-101(2)(b)). Our page on private property and parking lots goes through the cases.
Federal Land Has Its Own Rules
Side-by-sides are often ridden on federal ground. On Bureau of Land Management land, no person may operate an off-road vehicle "while under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, or dangerous drugs" (43 CFR § 8341.1(f)(3)). On national forest land, it is prohibited to operate a vehicle off forest, state, or county roads while under the influence in violation of state law (36 CFR § 261.15(e)). Those are federal citations handled in federal court. See DUI in national parks and on federal land.
What Carries Over From an Ordinary DUI
Everything else. Actual physical control applies, so sitting on a parked side-by-side with the key in can be enough. Field sobriety and breath testing work the same way. And a conviction suspends the license you use for your car.
This page explains Montana and federal law in general as of October 2026. Where we say a point is our reading of the text or is unsettled, we mean it. It is not legal advice about your specific case.