Surprisingly, the answer is: maybe.
Here's the deal. Under Indiana law, if you're over the limit, you legally can't be in control of a vehicle.
So picture this. You're sleeping off a rough night in your car. Nothing stops you from waking up, grabbing the keys, and driving off thinking you're fine.
But you might not be.
WAIT. SHOULDN'T THIS BE LEGAL? ISN'T IT BETTER THAN DRUNK DRIVING?
Good question.
Indiana's drunk driving law makes it illegal to "operate" a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08% or higher. It covers drugged driving too.
But here's where it gets tricky.
People have asked a fair question: Can you really say someone was "operating" a car if they were asleep and the engine was off?
Sometimes the courts have agreed. They've ruled that the person wasn't actually in control.
When judges make that call, they consider a few factors. Was the engine running? Where was the car parked?
What was the person actually trying to do?
And that's exactly where an Indiana OWI defense can come into play. If there's strong evidence you weren't operating the vehicle, it might work in your favor.
Let me give you an example.
A guy leaves a bar at closing time. He gets to his car and realizes he's way too drunk to drive. His phone's dead. There's nobody around to call for a ride.
So he does the responsible thing. He climbs into the back seat to sleep it off. A few hours later, the police find him.
Was he "operating" the vehicle? Maybe not.
But here's the catch: cops tend to be skeptical of drunk people sleeping in cars. Testing this theory could still get you arrested. Probably not worth the gamble.
Which raises a bigger question.
Should Indiana's law discourage people from pulling over and sleeping when they know they're too drunk to drive? That's something the legislature should think hard about.
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