Drinking in a parked car - illegal?

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Kaspian

Golden Member
Aug 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
So I went to a party last night and was about to pregame by drinking a can of Bud Light, after parking my car and removing the keys. My friend / passenger freaked out and said that the act was illegal. Was she right?
I didn't drive home drunk, by the way.
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Yes it is.
 
TwiceOver

TwiceOver

Lifer
Dec 20, 2002
13,544
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Not here in South Dakota. I lucked out on that one. It is also not an open container if you have multiple empty beer cans in the back of your open bed truck. I still havn't figured that one out.
 
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fLum0x

Golden Member
Jun 4, 2004
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I have a friend that was drunk and got in a car and put the key in the car but did not start it. A cop watched him walk out of the bar and everything and arrested him for a DUI before he even started the car. I mean...what?
 
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Syrch

Diamond Member
May 21, 2004
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Depends on the state. I know in IL it is. They say that if the person in the car as the ability to drive away then its illegal.
 
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Mr Pickles

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
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If you get drunk, decide to drive and then pull over to sleep, fall asleep in your drivers seat and wake up to the cops knocking on your window, if you blow abover the limit you can get a DUI.
 
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Garet Jax

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2000
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Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
So I went to a party last night and was about to pregame by drinking a can of Bud Light, after parking my car and removing the keys. My friend / passenger freaked out and said that the act was illegal. Was she right?

I didn't drive home drunk, by the way.
Click to expand...

As I understand it, if you have the keys to your car on your person while drinking in the car, then you can be charged with DUI if you are legally drunk.
 
middlehead

middlehead

Diamond Member
Jul 11, 2004
4,573
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Originally posted by: fLum0x
I have a friend that was drunk and got in a car and put the key in the car but did not start it. A cop watched him walk out of the bar and everything and arrested him for a DUI before he even started the car. I mean...what?
Click to expand...
My area they can get you at one of two times, a) keys in ignition or 2) keys in hand. For #2, doesn't matter if you just stepped out of the bar and your car's still a football field away, they can grab you for intent.
 
OutHouse

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
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case in point.

a guy i knew in North Dakota was a wrench monkey as a hobby and helped on a race car team. well one fine sat night they won a race and was back a the junk yard to celebrate. he passes out in a car with the keys in the ignition. I don't know how or why but a cop showed up on the junk yard and saw the guy i know passed out in the car. They arrested him for DUI. and spent the weekend in jail

When he saw the judge on Monday he explained to the judge that yes he was drunk, yes he was in a car with the keys in the ignition BUT your honor the car did not have a engine and all the tires were flat. the judge threw the charges out and released him.

true story. this guy was a airman first class and i was his supervisor. I called the Grand Forks Chief of Police and pitched a bitch and asked what kind of retard officers he was hiring.

 
B

BigJ

Lifer
Nov 18, 2001
21,330
1
81
Originally posted by: middlehead
Originally posted by: fLum0x
I have a friend that was drunk and got in a car and put the key in the car but did not start it. A cop watched him walk out of the bar and everything and arrested him for a DUI before he even started the car. I mean...what?
Click to expand...
My area they can get you at one of two times, a) keys in ignition or 2) keys in hand. For #2, doesn't matter if you just stepped out of the bar and your car's still a football field away, they can grab you for intent.
Click to expand...

Better take my bottle opener off my key chain.
 
alkemyst

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
So I went to a party last night and was about to pregame by drinking a can of Bud Light, after parking my car and removing the keys. My friend / passenger freaked out and said that the act was illegal. Was she right?

I didn't drive home drunk, by the way.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can be arrested for even just being drunk inside or near a car with keys within reach even. Open container laws vary by area though...most state you can't be actively seen drinking out of them though.

DUI/DWI laws are more designed for revenue generation than solving DUI/DWI deaths.

A lot of the people arrested for DUI/DWI were not driving at the time of arrest. Many were sleeping in the car and quite a few were arrested in parking lots/leaving a party to go get cigarettes out of their vehicles.

There was an attorney I talked too down here that fled NY due to being arrested in his driveway for washing his car while drinking a beer. In his area they impound. It was a car he fully owned and he was a well-known attorney that believes he was arrested for going after some internal affairs deal. His car was purchased at auction by another police officer supposedly.
 
D

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: fLum0x
I have a friend that was drunk and got in a car and put the key in the car but did not start it. A cop watched him walk out of the bar and everything and arrested him for a DUI before he even started the car. I mean...what?
Click to expand...

This happened to a relative here, in fact she borrowed my wife's car that day.

We had to get our car out of impound.

She left the bar and knew she needed a ride home.

Her cell battery was dead so she got in the car to plug it into the cigarette charger.

She made the call to have someone pick her up and she was just sitting in the car in the parking lot when an officer came up to the car window.

He arrested her for "Intent to DUI".

She has been to court at least ten times in the last year and still owes thousand of dollars in legal and court fees.
 
9

91TTZ

Lifer
Jan 31, 2005
14,374
1
0
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
So I went to a party last night and was about to pregame by drinking a can of Bud Light, after parking my car and removing the keys. My friend / passenger freaked out and said that the act was illegal. Was she right?

I didn't drive home drunk, by the way.
Click to expand...

Open container here.

You go to jail for "Intent to Drive Drunk".
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I wonder how far the police are willing to stretch that law? I mean, what if you're in a broken car with no engine? Would they still claim that you intended to drive drunk?

Edit: Just saw the other post about that very scenario.
 
J

Jugernot

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
6,889
0
0
Depends on the state, here in Alaska you can be cited for DWI even if you pass out in the back seat of your car with your keys! The keys are the important part, if you don't have them, they can't cite you.

BTW, You can also get a DUI riding a horse or golf cart.
 
W

whiteboy311kn

Junior Member
Nov 15, 2011
1
0
0
ric1287 said:
awww, someone get busted one too many times for speeding in their ricer?
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alright seriously i didnt think u would get in trouble as long as keys weree out of ignition (in CA..SoCal) tonight we got pulled over a few houses away from mine, i explained to the officer why we where drinkin in my friends car (cause my parents wouldnt allow strangers and me into my house drinking) he argues than thats why your parents dont let you drink i reminded him, they let me drink just not random ppl in my house that my parents think they will steal.... plz dont write me a ticket...they said they were, i was arguing saying dont give my friends a ticket because they wanted to drink at my house n my parents wouldnt allow it i made them drink in their car by my house as long as keys werent in ignition.......explained to cop...he didnt care he was gonna write me and the driver, tickets. (driver had intent to drive... so he said) but than when his backup got there, i didnt notice i went up to the other cop and said "seriously wer'e all getting tickets for this?!" at that time his backuppp jumped outta his car yellin at me sayin i was lucky i didnt get "fucked up".....SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! as pissed as i was i was sincerely begging cause i didnt want a ticket and they let us off...idk why but they said they could;ve gave us numerous tickets! is this true?!?!?! in socal?!?!?!?!?! i wish i known my laws/rights cause i woulda fought that asshole cop...theres much more to the story than this i was tryin to cut it short luckily i got off not in trouble...
 
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