This would probably be a problem in most places even if you had not crashed your car. If you claim to be sober when you crashed, there are probably other charges. And if you were drunk enough to crash, you’d need to have 3 in damaged beers in your car (problematic in Canada) and the presence of mind to quaff them. I know it’s theoretical, but it seems crazy to think this would work for most people or enhance your credibility given the accident.
Bad driving offenses are usually minor compared to DUI in Canada. A fine of $200 and demerits on your license are probably better than a criminal record, a much larger fine and possibly jail time if it is a habit, loss of license for a substantial time.
(Side note - if you are visiting Canada from the USA and customs find you have had a DUI you will likely be denied entry, as it is considered a serious offense. )
In Washington State, there’s a separate crime that’s not called DUI for being in control of a stopped vehicle while drunk. I forget the exact name for it. I know someone who had pulled over on a rural highway and was urinating when a cop saw him, tested him, and gave him the citation.
While technically not a DUI, it had pretty similar penalties. It included a short jail sentence, a large fine, and suspension of license. My impression is that it was intended to catch people trying to get out of DUIs on technicalities. The culprit in this case did not get any sympathy for the ‘but I wasn’t driving at the time!’ excuse.
Snoqualmie Tobacco and Liquor Company still has a drive-thru window. I used to support them as an IT person for the tribe.
What is the justification for giving out a DUI for sleeping in the backseat? I mean, is it just how the law has been interpreted or was it written with that intention?
The only reason I could think is that police were worried that drunk drivers would pretend they were just sleeping/weren’t going to drive.
As I said - drunk people do very weird things - including waking up (still drunk) and driving away. Plus, the usual nit-picking; “I was not actually driving the vehicle at the time”, etc. What’s the difference between sitting in the front vs the back? How about the passenger side? What if it’s a bench seat and I’m sleeping in the front?
So the simple rule is - if you are in the vehicle and in possession of the keys, you are “in control” and you shall not do this while over the limit.
(Fun story - old Canadian case - the truck was parked on the side of the road, the passenger was drinking a beer. The police came up to the driver, asked him to pass them the bottle, then charged him also for open alcohol in the vehicle when he passed it to them. The charge was eventually tossed in court, since the driver had not been “in control” of the open container until the policeman told him to be.)
I had a guy in a pick up truck in the oncoming lane make a left turn in front of me. With no way to stop, I hit him just in front of the rear wheel. It was a pretty hard hit and when the airbag dust cleared I made eye contact with the driver just before he pulled away. The police arrived and, with a good description of the other vehicle, I hopped in the police car and we went looking for the guy. Within ten minutes we located the smashed truck in driveway. The cop went to the door and the driver answered with a beer in his hand and appeared to chug it down. They wrote him a bunch of tickets but didn’t test him for alcohol saying it was too late. His wife later came in and gave a statement that she was driving. The husband was on the suspended list for DUI (surprise!) and a court date was scheduled for a trial for him on the tickets. On the day of the trial the defense attorney asked if he could speak with me before court. “Sure”, says I. He said he thought he recognized my name from somewhere. I then told him that I was a county detective and maybe he had represented some of my arrestees. He said something like, " I guess you’ll make a pretty credible witness. I think we’ll plead out." His client got 45 days in the slammer and the wife got charged with filing false reports. No additional DUI, though.
You remind me of my indoctrination classes when I arrived to my post in Germany. This was 1991, so time has passed, but the Hanau police chief instructed us to cause the vial of blood to break on the floor. Only one sample could be legally drawn, and if it was smashed, there’s nothing they could do until the morning when the judge arrived at work.
Hello,
Can you please give me any information about Kansas state DUI law and penalties??
Thanks in advance.