Although this seems like a simple question, the answer is anything but simple. Everyone has heard of someone arrested while "sleeping it off" in their car, or something similar. In many states, DUI only requires "control of the vehicle.". Therefore, merely sitting in the car with the keys in the ignition running and the radio or heater on could be enough for a DUI!!
NOT IN CALIFORNIA!
in California, "driving" for purposes of DUI requires "volitional vehicle movement.". In other words, the car must move under the "driver's" control. So, sitting in the driver's seat of a running car while drunk is NOT a DUI in California, but pushing a disabled car while drunk can be!!
Of course, just because the police don't SEE you driving doesn't mean you can't be convicted of DUI based on circumstantial evidence (that you drove while drunk before they arrived). However, there may also be evidence that a person consumed alcohol (or a drug) AFTER they parked!
My first DUI trial in Shasta County (in about 1994!)involved police being called to a liquor store parking lot, where they found my client passed out in the driver's seat of her car, with the engine running and the car IN GEAR!! The only reason the car wasn't moving was her unconscious foot on the brake! After police finally roused her, they arrested my client (the only person in the car) for DUI! She was so drunk, she actually had wet herself!
Well, we were able to show that her husband had actually driven the car to that location, and then walked off after getting in a fight with his EXTREMELY drunk wife! Unfortunately, he forgot that she had a spare key in her purse! The jury acquitted after about two hours!
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