Can I Get a DUI in My Driveway?

It’s a nice summer day, sun is out, it’s not too hot, and you decide to sit in your car in your driveway, listen to some tunes on the premium sound system you paid the dealer extra for, and have a few beers. Maybe you were playing the music a bit too loud, because after a while, a police cruiser pulls up and the officer says the neighbors have complained about the noise. The cop notices the empty beer cans, asks you to step out of the car, and before you know it, you’ve been arrested for DUI.

You might think that this is an easy case. After all, you’d never left your driveway, you didn’t even have your engine on, and had no intention of going anywhere. Unfortunately, however, it’s not a slam dunk in your favor. This is when you need the help of one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF Law Firm’s Criminal Defense Team, who are skilled in DUI defense. Fill out our website contact form, or call us at 888.535.3686, and we’ll schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your case.

A Question of Control

Pennsylvania’s DUI statute does not necessarily require a driver to be driving a vehicle while under the influence in order to be found guilty of DUI. Drivers are prohibited from being “in actual physical control of the movement” of their vehicle while they are over the limit. When Pennsylvania courts have considered this language, they have noted several factors that can be used to determine whether the driver was in actual control of a vehicle. These include:

• Whether the motor is running
• Where the vehicle is located
• Evidence showing that the defendant had driven the vehicle

So if you’ve been sitting in your driveway all afternoon, drinking some beers and listening to tunes on your car’s stereo system, it is possible that you could be arrested for DUI if the police officer believes you have been driving while intoxicated.

Of course, there are other situations where you can be arrested for DUI while your car is in your driveway. You may have been driving and pulled into your driveway with the police close behind. Or the police were called to your home for another reason, and see that you are intoxicated and that your car’s engine is still warm from a recent drive. In short, your driveway is not a “home base” that will prevent police from arresting you for DUI if they believe you were driving while intoxicated.

Defenses to Driveway DUI Arrests

To defend against a driveway DUI charge, you want to negate any inference that you were driving while intoxicated – in other words, show that there was no “movement” of your vehicle that you were “in actual physical control of.” There are a number of ways that you might be able to do this, but they depend heavily on the facts of your particular situation.

Cases that have found that the intoxicated defendant was in “actual physical control” of their vehicle tend to be ones where the defendant was found asleep (and intoxicated) in the vehicle while it was not running, or where the vehicle is parked (including in a driveway) but its engine is warm and the defendant is nearby in an intoxicated condition.

You Need an Experienced Attorney to Defend You in a DUI Case

This is where working with one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF Law Firm’s Criminal Defense Team can help enormously. We represent clients all across Pennsylvania who are facing DUI charges, and our attorneys know what it takes to successfully defend against DUI charges in a wide range of situations. If you are facing DUI charges because the police believe you were driving your car while intoxicated when in fact you had not been, we can help you collect the facts necessary to show the court that you were not driving while under the influence.

Fill out our contact form, or give us a call at 888.535.3686. We will schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. We’ll go over your case with you and let you know how the LLF Law Firm’s Criminal Defense Team can help.