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Avoid sleeping in your car after a night of drinking

On Behalf of | Mar 21, 2018 | DUI Defense |

Indiana police have made wider efforts to prevent people from driving after drinking alcohol. This includes setting up more DUI checkpoints and remaining more vigilant about drivers who appear intoxicated. 

After consuming an excessive amount of alcohol, some people are smart enough to know they should not drive. Instead, they get inside their cars to sleep it off until they feel better. However, in the middle of the night, the police see someone inside a vehicle and perform a welfare check to make sure everything is all right. You may think you are in the clear, but you could face arrest for DUI even though you slept. 

Take precautions

Police may arrest you for DUI even if you are in a parking lot because you are technically in control of the vehicle. Therefore, if you must sleep it off, then you need to take precautions to show you had no intention to drive the car. Do not sleep in the driver’s seat. Instead, rest it off in the back. Additionally, you should not put the keys in the ignition even if you do not turn them to start the car. This shows you had intent to drive. Play it safe and put the keys in the trunk of the vehicle. This gives you a better defense that you just wanted to sleep and were not going to drive tonight. 

Consider factors police use to determine DUI

Police take into account several factors to determine whether to issue a DUI. For starters, the location of the vehicle matters. If the police catch you sleeping in your car in the bar’s parking lot, then you probably did not drive that evening. However, if you parked your car off to the side of the road, then the police may assume you drove a little and pulled to the side later. An officer can assume you drove drunk even if he or she did not actually witness it.