Said to a person in a wheelchair:
You shouldn't be riding/driving that thing drunk.
Are both natural?
Does any of them require an "in" after it in the sentence?
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1Is the wheelchair motorized? "Driving" is really only used for a motorized vehicle.– Canadian YankeeCommented Sep 9, 2020 at 21:51
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Does this answer your question? Do you ride a car? Also Why the word "ride" is used in this sentence? and Driving vs. Riding, among others.– FumbleFingersCommented Jan 6, 2023 at 12:31
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2 Answers
Let's define some terms.
to operate the mechanism and controls and direct the course of (a vehicle)
Relating to the previous definition, we must also define vehicle:
a means of carrying or transporting something
Ride:
to travel in or on a conveyance
Let's define conveyance, too:
a means of transport
Is a wheelchair a vehicle? Yes. Is this person in a wheelchair operating its controls and directing its course? Presumably in this case. Is this person travelling in or on some means of transport? Yes, he travels in a wheelchair.
Therefore, the person is by definition driving and riding the wheelchair.
That being said, @CanadianYankee makes a good point in the comments:
"Driving" is really only used for a motorized vehicle.
It is true that one normally drives a car or motorcycle, and it's also true that one normally rides a bike (on being left implicit) but rides in (in being explicitly stated) a car unless they are on the roof and clinging to the bike rack for dear life. Considering the definition of in is conventionally stretched to permit a person to sit in an armchair rather than on it, I would say:
You shouldn't be riding in that thing drunk.
If you choose to use drive, I would say the preposition is optional.
TL;DR: Both are okay, but perhaps you should consider using using or operating for a more natural phrasing.
Riding implies more of a passive interaction with a vehicle, and driving is a direct action one takes with a vehicle. (This is part of the reason why the slogan "don't drink and drive" is effective, apart from the allileration)
In this case, to ride something while drunk is not necessarily a big deal, but directly operating a vehicle would be considered dangerous.
For a person in a wheelchair, it would be more appropriate to say "drive" but it might still seem strange because a wheelchair is more so "operated" than "driven".
If I was pushing someone in a wheelchair while they were drunk, the situation would be pretty safe and the person would be "riding".
