Can this really happen? Saw it on TV..DUI charge

[ccgirl]

I'm not sure how this law keeps drunks off the road, though - after all, if they have made the good decision NOT to drive and have parked to sleep it off, should they be penalized for that??

Just remove the keys from the ignition and you can't be charged.

 

[scrapquitler]

Last night, I was watching an old Everybody Loves Raymond episode.

Deb drank too much at Amy's bridal shower. She got in her car to drive home, and decided she can't drive. She called Raymond, and left a voice mail for him to call her on her cell, but she needed him to come and get her. She then put her head back, and fell asleep.

A cop knocks on her window, and asks Deb if she is OK. Deb answer she was fine, she just had too much to drink, and rolled over to go back to sleep. Next thing, Ray is getting a call from Deb, she's in jail. They arrested her for DUI.

As they were putting her in the cell, she was asking how can she be arrested for DUI if there was no D.

So, that's my question too. I know it's a TV show, but here she was, doing the right thing, and she is arrested.

I also watch World's Dumbest on Tru TV and I saw this happen on a video clip. A man was sleeping in a car parked on the side of the road. A cop woke him up and gave him a field sobriety test, which he failed miserably.(it was quite comical and that is why the clip was shown) He was arrested, but I want to know why??? He was not driving. How can he be charged with driving or operating under the influence, if he was sound asleep and not bothering anyone?

Yep. I have a friend who was sleeping in his car, with the car running (because it was winter and cold) and he got arrested for DUI.

Another friend told me that if you are in that situation (see above) you should lock the keys in the trunk of the car or hide them somewhere outside of the car and tell the cop that you ARE NOT DRIVING because you cannot find your keys...otherwise you can get a DUI even if you are sitting in the car and not driving.

I don't know any more about it than this.

 

[luvmy3]

I'm not sure how this law keeps drunks off the road, though - after all, if they have made the good decision NOT to drive and have parked to sleep it off, should they be penalized for that??

How long are they going to sleep it off? Is it a guarantee they will be there all night until all the alcohol is out of their system? Is there a guarantee that they won't wake up a few hours later and assume they are fine and proceed to drive home? Nope, but arresting them sure does guarantee they won't

 

[momx2]

That is why there is OPERATING while intoxicated (OWI) and DRIVING under the influence (DUI)... Marie would have been an OWI, but DUI is more well known.

Depends...every state has different laws. In my state there is no OWI, only DUI and yes, you will be charged if caught drunk setting in your car with the keys, whether the car is started or not. It is all about whether or not you have control over the car. I think it is a horrible law that actually encourages people who shouldn't be driving to go ahead and "go for it." If you leave a bar and can't drive and there are no cabs (this is true in most areas of my state) then your just a sitting duck in your car, so why not try and get home before your caught.

I understand the law and the intent, unfortunately it doesn't work.

 

[momx2]

How long are they going to sleep it off? Is it a guarantee they will be there all night until all the alcohol is out of their system? Is there a guarantee that they won't wake up a few hours later and assume they are fine and proceed to drive home? Nope, but arresting them sure does guarantee they won't

Or maybe they are just waiting to be pick up or until daylight to walk or any number of valid things. Like I said earlier, I understand the law, but being arrested for sitting in your car, minding your own business while intoxicated is ridiculous and does not deter drunk driving. Actually the opposite is occuring.

 

[luvmy3]

Or maybe they are just waiting to be pick up or until daylight to walk or any number of valid things. Like I said earlier, I understand the law, but being arrested for sitting in your car, minding your own business while intoxicated is ridiculous and does not deter drunk driving. Actually the opposite is occuring.

If you think its ridiculous, then I'm not sure you do understand the law, or at the very least why they enforce it.

ETA Jut wanted to clarify what I mean. If you have never been effected by someone who was drunk behind the wheel you may not get it. I had a friend who passed out in the parking lot, then woke up proceeded to drive home. On the way he struck a telephone pole, he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Luckily he didn't hit another car with innocent people in it. Had he been arrested for sitting in his car, he'd be alive today.
He was an alcoholic, he most likely didn't think he was drunk when he decided to go home.

 

[U2_rocks!]

Just remove the keys from the ignition and you can't be charged.

Is that widely enough known though? And what if it's a cold night and you're waiting for a ride - the car needs to be on to get heat.

I don't know, it just seems really extreme. This law doesn't affect me - I've never done this, and it isn't a law where I live anyway - but wow, I never realized there were laws so strict in other places.

 

[Starbrite]

Yes, I have a very close friend going thru this right now.

Got to the car, realized he couldn't drive, called for a ride & waited in the car.....got arrested before the ride arrived. It's sad, I feel he did the right thing by calling for help & will now spend additional time in jail as it's a 2nd offense.



I was always told if you're going to wait in the car, sit in the passenger or back seat! You can keep the car running if you are not in the drivers seat.

 

[r1lissa]

Friend was inebriated, pulled off to the side of the road to sleep, and put his keys in the console.
He was arrested for Public Intoxication. This is in Texas.

Lesson- don't drink then drive AT ALL!

 

[momx2]

Yes, I have a very close friend going thru this right now.

Got to the car, realized he couldn't drive, called for a ride & waited in the car.....got arrested before the ride arrived. It's sad, I feel he did the right thing by calling for help & will now spend additional time in jail as it's a 2nd offense.



I was always told if you're going to wait in the car, sit in the passenger or back seat! You can keep the car running if you are not in the drivers seat.

Unfortunately, this is not true, at least in my state. You are still "in control" of the vehicle.

My opinion on the law is because it encourages some to go ahead and drive instead of waiting. If your going to be arrested for sitting in your car waiting for a ride, why not make a run for it....

I have seen this happen many, many times.

 

[KimR]

How long are they going to sleep it off? Is it a guarantee they will be there all night until all the alcohol is out of their system? Is there a guarantee that they won't wake up a few hours later and assume they are fine and proceed to drive home? Nope, but arresting them sure does guarantee they won't

By using that logic, then everyone drinking in a bar or restaurant who is above the legal limit and in possession of a set of car keys should be arrested. Because that's the only way to guarantee they won't drive drunk.

 

[DipsyDoodles]

Absoultely, Its OUI (Operating Under the Influence). It happens quite often. You are operating a motor vehicle while impaired - you definetely don't have to actually be driving. As to the previous comment (which lacks any logic), just holding a set of keys is clearly not operating a motor vehicle.

 

[need2cruise]

That is why there is OPERATING while intoxicated (OWI) and DRIVING under the influence (DUI)... Marie would have been an OWI, but DUI is more well known.

In our state there is no DUI, just OWI. However we do have public intoxication laws and can be arrested for that.

If someone is in a car and the car isn't on their personal property, a cop really doesn't know if the person was drunk and drove to that location, or got drunk after arriving at that location. It's always best to err on the side of caution to keep drunks off the street and unable to hurt others. However, like you stated earlier, there are a lot of cops who would understand and have you call someone to pick you up and there are some who just follow the rules to a T and will arrest you.

 

[rigs32]

I am a prosecutor in NY. We only have DWI, no DUI or OWI.

Here is the jury charge for DWI:

Under our law no person shall operate a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated condition.

Motor vehicle means every vehicle operated or driven upon a public highway, private road open to motor vehicle traffic, or parking lot which is propelled by any power other than muscular power.

To operate a motor vehicle means to drive it. A person also operates a motor vehicle when such person is sitting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle for the purpose of placing the vehicle in motion, and when the motor vehicle is moving, or even if it is not moving, the engine is running.

A person is in an intoxicated condition when such person has consumed alcohol to the extent that he or she is incapable, to a substantial extent, of employing the physical and mental abilities which he or she is expected to possess in order to operate a vehicle as a reasonable and prudent driver.
-----------------------------------------------

I have won trials where the person pulled over to the side of the road to sleep it off even if the keys were not in the ignition. How? The person admitted driving and stopping to sleep it off. This is especially true in cases where the person stops in the middle of nowhere - not in the parking lot of the bar or outside a friend's home.

You can be convicted even if the officer didn't see you drive. Your statements to police plus the corroboration of your vehicle's location when stopped is enough to establish the operation element.

Most judges around here won't convict if the person never leaves the original location even if the car is running if the person is clearly asleep when the officer knocks on the window. BUT there is case law to support that once that person is awake behind the wheel of a running vehicle that it constitutes operation.

 

[luvmy3]

By using that logic, then everyone drinking in a bar or restaurant who is above the legal limit and in possession of a set of car keys should be arrested. Because that's the only way to guarantee they won't drive drunk.

There is a clear difference between the two situations in the context of the law we are discussing.

FTR I wouldn't have a problem collecting the car keys of my friends who are out a restaurant or bar if they are over the legal limit, because that does guarantee they won't be driving

 

[doxdogy]

I believe (and I could be wrong) keys in the ignition or walking out of the bar with your keys in your hand when drunk, could be considered intent to drive under the influence. My sister was arrested walking out a convenience store intoxicated with the keys in her hand and she was arrested for DUI. The police told her since she was in possession of her keys, she had the intent to drive.

 

[Disnydad]

Yep, in the car with key in the ignition = handcuffs.

 

[tasha99]

The thing is, I've heard of people getting arrested for being in the front seat sleeping it off in the bar parking lot, because their keys were in their pocket. I think that's punishing someone for doing the right thing.

 

[chobie]

Here is part of the jury instruction for DUI in Florida:
To prove the crime of Driving under the Influence, the State must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1 (Defendant) drove or was in actual physical control of a vehicle.

2. While driving or in actual physical control of the vehicle, (defendant)

Give 2a or b or both as applicable.
a. was under the influence of [alcoholic beverages] [a chemical substance] [a controlled substance] to the extent that [his] [her] normal faculties were impaired.

b. had a [blood] [breath]-alcohol level of .08 or more grams
of alcohol per [100 milliliters of blood] [210 liters of breath].


Actual physical control of a vehicle means the defendant must be physically in or on the vehicle and have the capability to operate the vehicle, regardless of whether [he] [she] is actually operating the vehicle at the time.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

Don't forget about DWAI either...you can actually be cited for DWAI if you are driving under lack of sleep...in the view of the officer your Ability to drive is impaired...