Operating a vehicle while intoxicated is one of the most common charges in Indiana — in fact, hundreds of people around the state face these or similar charges in any given year. And, intuitively, most people know what that means. You can’t ‘operate’ a ‘vehicle’ while ‘intoxicated.’ Pretty straight forward, right? Not necessarily.
Indiana lays out all the ways you can be charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated in I.C. 9-30-5-1 through IC 9-30-5-15. Within those subsections to Chapter 5, the legislature has laid out what constitutes each of the crimes contained within the operating a vehicle while intoxicated chapter, but it also includes sections on the license suspension ramifications, specialized driving privilege conditions, ignition interlock device requirements, and possible fines/outcomes involved in these types of offenses. You may also be asking yourself why people call it a DUI (driving under the influence) but you are officially charged with an OVWI (operating a vehicle while intoxicated.) While many states call it DUI or even OWI (operating while intoxicated), in Indiana it is formally known as an OVWI.
The four most common ways to be charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Indiana are as follows: (1) operating a vehicle with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) between .08 to .15, as a Class C misdemeanor (60 day possible sentence) (2) operating a vehicle with a BAC of .15 or higher, as a Class A misdemeanor (365 day possible sentence), (3) operating a vehicle while intoxicated without endangerment, as a Class C misdemeanor (4) operating a vehicle while intoxicated WITH endangerment, as a Class A misdemeanor.
Most people facing an operating a vehicle while intoxicated case understand why they are charged, but when charged with an extra A misdemeanor charge for endangering someone, they often question whether they “endangered” anyone at all. Many times, the people that hire us or call on these cases, will say, “it was only me in the car, I didn’t endanger anyone else!” Or, they will say, “it was only me and the police officer on the road when I was pulled over, I didn’t endanger the cop or me!” Lastly, and equally as common, “my driving was not dangerous at all, so how am I endangering anyone?”
So, what qualifies as endangerment? You’d be surprised — in fact, you don’t even need a BAC number to get charged with it!! Regardless, it doesn’t take much at all. Most simply put, if you are operating a vehicle on a public road of any sort, while you are intoxicated (usually over a .08, are obviously impaired without a BAC known, or with a metabolite in your system), you are endangering YOURSELF and the POLICE OFFICER involved in the stop. Yep. That straightforward. That’s it, and that’s all. The state need not prove that people were swerving to get away from you, or you were going 15 over the speed limit, or that you wrecked or hurt someone for the ‘endangerment’ to stick. You could even be charged with it at a “DUI checkpoint,” if the officer feels you did something reckless or endangered someone while being stopped.
To the contrary, the relevant caselaw states that it is inherently dangerous to the defendant, the police officer, and/or any potential person sharing the road (even if no one is around) just by the accused simply operating a vehicle on a public road. Again, it really is that straightforward. Slight speeding — endangerment. Slight weaving with the lane — endangerment. Changing lanes without signaling appropriately — endangerment. Basically, so long as the officer has a valid reason to pull you over for any traffic-ticket-eligible-offense, and the car is moving when seen by the officer, that driving behavior can usually be shown to be inherently dangerous.
So, what doesn’t qualify? If someone is stationary in the car and is parked, they are found in a parking lot or drive through, and/or no one saw them operate the car but it is clear they did, the state will charge the C misdemeanor form of operating a vehicle without endangerment. Some prosecutors will only file non-endangerment charges on cases where the purpose for the stop was for an equipment violation or non-moving violation, but not always. Obviously, moving violations are way more common, and thus endangerment is filed way more often than not. While not always, the non-endangered charge is more likely to be upgraded if it is your 2nd or 3rd DUI.
As you can see, the law isn’t always as straight forward as you might guess. That’s why it is crucial that you hire an experienced Indianapolis DUI Attorney to help you through your situation. At Banks & Brower, we have handled thousands of OVWI’s as prosecutors and defense attorneys. Should you or a loved one be facing an operative a vehicle while intoxicated, give us a call or shoot us an email 24/7/365 at 317.870.0019 or info@banksbrower.com.
