Operating an Amusement Ride While Intoxicated in Houston, Texas

 Posted on September 10, 2025 in DUI/DWI

In Houston, we are blessed with sun most of the year, making amusement parks a popular attraction. From the small to the large, from Ferris wheels to roller coasters, Houston has a ride for you and/or your children. Amusement parks make for a great day and for memories that last a lifetime.

People are generally cheerful and happy at amusement parks, and adults sometimes consume alcohol as part of the festivities. For customers, alcohol consumption is fine (so long as there is a designated driver), but for employed personnel carrying out their job by either operating a ride or assembling a mobile one, alcohol is strictly forbidden.

Amusement park rides are fun. However, they can also be dangerous, even without interference or mechanical errors. In fact, thousands of kids a year are injured without the suspicion that tortious or criminal acts were involved.

Unfortunately, things can go wrong, and when employees and alcohol are added into the mix, the chances of a serious accident increase exponentially. Fortunately, incidents involving an accident resulting from an intoxicated operator or assembler are rare, but this does not mean it is outside the realm of possibilities.  

If you have been arrested and charged with assembling or operating an amusement ride while intoxicated, you should not take the matter lightly. It is a real crime with real consequences. You should contact the best that Houston has to offer: Doug Murphy is a reputable, Board-certified DWI lawyer in the greater Houston metropolitan area.

Attorney Murphy takes intoxication charges seriously and aggressively advocates on your behalf so that you don't have to worry about the penalties and collateral damage that accompany intoxication convictions. If you are facing such charges, it is essential to consult with a Houston, TX DWI lawyer from Murphy & McKinney Law Firm, P.C..  

Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride While Intoxicated

According to Texas Penal Code § 49.065, you commit an offense if you are "intoxicated while operating an amusement ride or while assembling a mobile amusement ride." To win a conviction, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were intoxicated and that you were operating an amusement park ride at the time you were intoxicated.

Proving these two elements beyond a reasonable doubt may sound like a cut-and-dry task, but there is much more to it. Intoxication is a complex term, and understanding and applying it to each unique case is important to build an excellent defense. An experienced DWI lawyer knows how to break down the meaning of intoxication into variables that can be used in a successful defense.

The Meaning of "Intoxicated"

Under Texas law, you are legally "intoxicated" if you were under the influence of alcohol, an illegal drug, a prescription or other drug known to cause intoxication, or a combination of two or all three of these, and as a result of that intoxication and at the time the offense was allegedly committed, you had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.08 percent or you lacked the normal use of your mental and physical faculties.

The definition of intoxicated is complicated because you do not necessarily have to have a BAC of 0.08 percent or more. You can still be charged with an intoxication offense, i.e., Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride While Intoxicated, even if you had a 0.06 percent BAC but were acting as if you were drunk. However, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were intoxicated.

Problems with Determining Intoxication

Though other problems could be relevant, there are two primary issues with the meaning of "intoxicated." A BAC of 0.08 percent may be a clear indication of intoxication, but multiple problems could transpire with breathalyzers and blood tests.

The second indicator of intoxication is very vague; who decides what it means to lack "normal" use of your mental or physical facilities? Normal is not defined.   There are personality issues, medical and health issues that could affect your "normal" use of mental and physical faculties.

Penalties for Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride While Intoxicated

If you are convicted of Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride While Intoxicated, it is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas. The penalty for a Class B misdemeanor is as follows:

• Imprisonment for a minimum of 72 hours and up to 180 days; and/or
• A fine of up to $2,000.
• These penalties are already quite severe, but the possibility of additional penalties exists. 
• Complications with a first offense

Many things could complicate your first offense of an intoxication-related charge, but below are two important ones:

1. If, when you were charged with Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride While Intoxicated, there were also open containers of alcohol present, then you were likely also charged with an open container offense. If convicted, the latter offense could increase the minimum days in jail from three to six days.
2. If, when you were charged with an Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride while Intoxicated offense, an accident occurred and someone was injured or killed, then you are facing additional charges, i.e., intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter, that could result in multiple years to decades spent in prison, steep fines, and civil liability. If more than one person is injured or killed, each presents itself as a separate offense.

Depending on the circumstances and any prior convictions, you could also have your driver's license suspended.

How Do Prior Convictions Affect These Charges?

A conviction of an Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride offense will act as a prior conviction for any other "while intoxicated" offense, including driving while intoxicated (DWI), boating while intoxicated (BWI), or flying while intoxicated (FWI). Therefore, if you are charged and convicted first of Operating an Amusement Ride while Intoxicated and then a DWI a year later, the second DWI is punished as a second DWI offense.

A second offense, a Class A misdemeanor, carries a penalty range of 30 to 365 days in prison and a fine of up to $4,000. A third or subsequent offense is a third-degree felony, carrying a penalty of two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Collateral Consequences of a First Offense

The above penalties are all quite severe, but what some might find more serious is the collateral damage that accompanies a first offense. The collateral consequences are a direct result of having a criminal record.

• If you seek employment, your application could be denied after a criminal background check. Some companies believe that individuals with a criminal record, especially those involving a DWI, are problematic and see it as a liability.
• If you have higher education aspirations, you may find that some academic institutions will not accept you, while others may deny you housing or financial assistance, including loans and/or scholarships.
• If you are seeking new housing and attempting to rent an apartment or house, you may find some property managers have a strict policy against anyone with a criminal record, including a DWI conviction.
• If you enjoy a good reputation in your community, you may find that the public opinion of you has changed, causing your reputation to suffer.
• Depending on where you are in your professional, academic, and/or personal life and where you want to be, a criminal record can pose as a significant roadblock in your endeavors.

The Stakes are High: Retain a Knowledgeable DWI Lawyer

When the stakes are so high for a crime you may not have even realized was a crime, you need an experienced lawyer. Doug Murphy is Board-certified in both DWI and criminal defense, a distinction shared by only one other person in Texas. He knows how to defend against intoxication charges that include driving while intoxicated, boating while intoxicated, flying while intoxicated, and operating or assembling an amusement ride while intoxicated. Doug Murphy will use, when appropriate, multiple defenses that could include:

• Improper arrest - The officer may have lacked probable cause to stop and arrest you.
• Improper administration of a field sobriety test - The officer may have asked you to conduct a field sobriety test, and often, these tests are improperly administered or the results are inaccurate. The horizontal gaze nystagmus test is often faulty; the test detects eye movements.
• Improper administration of portable breathalyzer tests - The officer may not have been properly trained, the equipment itself may not have been properly maintained, or there may have been interfering factors (e.g., indigestion) that could have produced inaccurate results.
• Improper administration of blood test - If a blood sample was taken, the sample goes through a chain of custody, and through this process, the sample or results can be mishandled or tampered with.
• Rising blood alcohol concentration (BAC) - Your blood alcohol content may have been below the legal limit while you were operating or assembling the amusement ride, and then when you were not operating the ride but at the time you were stopped and questioned by the officer, your BAC increased; this happens when recently consumed alcohol has not yet fully absorbed until a breath or blood test was taken later.

Contact a Houston DWI Defense Attorney

Being charged with Assembling or Operating an Amusement Ride while Intoxicated is a serious, albeit rare, charge. If you have been accused of this offense, you should contact an experienced attorney to help you defend the charge. A highly skilled Houston, TX DWI lawyer from Murphy & McKinney Law Firm, P.C. will devote our full resources and capabilities to your DWI case.

We have decades of proven experience and a reputation earned in the courtroom for successful results. Attorney Doug Murphy is a board-certified DWI lawyer who not only fights on behalf of his clients but also consistently gives back to the legal community, teaching other attorneys how to do the same.  Call 713-229-8333 today to discuss the circumstances of your case.