Charged with a DUI When I Wasn’t Driving

R

Robby998

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Saturday, I was out tailgating. After the football game, we all decided to go out to the bars. Around midnight, it was time for me to go home. The problem was, I couldn’t get a taxi or Uber anywhere. There were none available. I called my son to come pick me up and take me home. Here is where the problems begin. As he pulled out, he made an illegal turn and was pulled over. My son (16) only has his learners permit and not his full drivers license. The cop noted this and asked if I was the responsible guardian. I was taken out of the car due to reasonable suspicion of being under the influence. Needless to say I didn’t pass the field sobriety test and was taken to the station. My BAC was registered at 0.19. I was also charged with child endangerment. I have a lawyer and I’m going to fight both charges.

Since I wasn’t driving, do I report this to the FAA? Will they see this as a motor vehicle action?
 
Robby998 said:
Saturday, I was out tailgating. After the football game, we all decided to go out to the bars. Around midnight, it was time for me to go home. The problem was, I couldn’t get a taxi or Uber anywhere. There were none available. I called my son to come pick me up and take me home. Here is where the problems begin. As he pulled out, he made an illegal turn and was pulled over. My son (16) only has his learners permit and not his full drivers license. The cop noted this and asked if I was the responsible guardian. I was taken out of the car due to reasonable suspicion of being under the influence. Needless to say I didn’t pass the field sobriety test and was taken to the station. My BAC was registered at 0.19. I was also charged with child endangerment. I have a lawyer and I’m going to fight both charges.

Since I wasn’t driving, do I report this to the FAA? Will they see this as a motor vehicle action?
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Your Guilty. Well, you did do what you were charged with. Maybe the Shyster will get ya off and it won't be a Guilty.
 
I hope you have a good lawyer and lots of money. Actually, never mind, anybody that gets into a car, driving or not, in front of their child with a 0.19 BAC deserves everything that comes to him. I just hope your child is smarter than you and learns from your failures. If you own a plane, sell it now while the market is still good. You won’t be needing it.
 
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Bad move, how did your son get to you? Sounds like he drove illegally to get you too. Bad judgement on your part. Lucky they didn't get him for that too.

Just an FYI, cops are everywhere after an event like this, doing illegal stuff pretty much guarantees you will be pulled over.
 
When our kids were in middle school, my wife and I made the drunk driving pledge to them; if they were ever anywhere and had either been drinking, or their ride home had been drinking, they could call us and we would come pick them up, with no repercussions for the behavior. Getting them home safely was what mattered.

This is kind of an interesting reversal on that scenario.

Getting home safely after drinking too much was absolutely the desired outcome. Calling a friend instead of an underage son would have avoided the child endangerment charge, and prevented the son from seeing Dad leaving a bar at .19.

Some states don't allow a student driver to drive alone at night, some do, so this may or may not have repercussions for the son's driving record.
 
I know a guy who got a DUI sleeping in his own driveway in the car he had not been driving at all just got booted out of the house by his wife and went to sleep it off in the car.

Play stupid games win stupid prizes. Glad you didn't drive though.
 
DFH65 said:
I know a guy who got a DUI sleeping in his own driveway in the car he had not been driving at all just got booted out of the house by his wife and went to sleep it off in the car.
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I think the way to avoid that problem is to unlock your car, then put the keys somewhere far away and reasonably inaccessible so that you could make the case that you did not have the ability to start or drive the car before you go back to sleep in the vehicle.
 
Tough break. Fight it. I have a hard time seeing how a court would equate "failing to properly supervise student driver" with "driving under the influence."
 
Kenny Taylor said:
Tough break. Fight it. I have a hard time seeing how a court would equate "failing to properly supervise student driver" with "driving under the influence."
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Seen it happen to an acquaintance. A practicing attorney no less. He wasn’t even drunk he was taking some pill that made him drowsy. He decided to fight it. He spent 90 days in the county lock up. He was able to get it knocked down from felony endangerment to a misdemeanor. Fight it or don’t fight it either way it’s gonna cost him big. As it should.
And I’m sure he still has to report it to the FAA. .19 BAC puts him in habitual category.
 
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Kenny Taylor said:
Tough break. Fight it. I have a hard time seeing how a court would equate "failing to properly supervise student driver" with "driving under the influence."
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It’s the motor vehicle equivalent of acting as PIC. We don’t know what state the OP lives in but I suspect there are requirements of the surpervising driver. In Virginia, in addition to being licensed, the supervising adult must be “alert, able to assist the driver, and actually occupying a seat beside the driver […] and lawfully permitted to operate the motor vehicle or accompanying motorcycle at that time.”

So yeah, a DUI is in order. And an exceptional demonstration of poor judgement.
 
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So this is now the sanctimonious ******* forum? And not one of you answered his question.:rolleyes:

OP: 61.15 requires reporting of motor vehicle actions including convictions or license suspensions, but not the arrest itself. You might need to report the arrest on your next medical form, as an arrest "involving driving while intoxicated," depending on the details of the charges against you. If you avoid conviction and basic med is an option for you, you might consider it.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...sh/ash_programs/investigations/airmen_duidwi/
 
Lindberg said:
So this is now the sanctimonious ******* forum?
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I don't think the opinions expressed here regarding having an unlicensed, minor driver to pick him up after midnight fall into the sanctimonious category. I will use this as a lesson to my kid that if ever faced with a similar situation, stay at home.

The OP's statement of "Here is where the problems begin" is misplaced. At the latest, the problems began when he asked his son to violate the terms of his driving permit.
 
Lindberg said:
So this is now the sanctimonious ******* forum? And not one of you answered his question.:rolleyes:

OP: 61.15 requires reporting of motor vehicle actions including convictions or license suspensions, but not the arrest itself. You might need to report the arrest on your next medical form, as an arrest "involving driving while intoxicated," depending on the details of the charges against you. If you avoid conviction and basic med is an option for you, you might consider it.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...sh/ash_programs/investigations/airmen_duidwi/
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I did answer his question, if you look closer at my last posting. But what we think doesn’t really matter. Happily, I’m pretty sure the system is going to fix this one even with our sanctimony.
 
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This is actually a really (academically) fascinating question, and would make a good law school exam question. To me, it depends on whether, in OP's state, one can actually be convicted of a DUI when serving in the "supervisory" role over a student driver. If you're supervising a student driver, are you legally "operating" the motor vehicle? If not, is there any law that says the one doing the supervising must be anything other than a licensed driver (in other words, does the law actually say you have to be sober)?

As to the child endangerment point, that just seems like a silly overblown charge. The kid is 16, and can likely very safely operate the car. Depending on the state, he very well may be totally legal driving solo. And at 16, picking up his drunk father really shouldn't be "traumatic." I'd bet a fair amount of money he's seen plenty of drunks at 16, though mostly his high school buddies at parties.
 
bradg33 said:
This is actually a really (academically) fascinating question, and would make a good law school exam question. To me, it depends on whether, in OP's state, one can actually be convicted of a DUI when serving in the "supervisory" role over a student driver. If you're supervising a student driver, are you legally "operating" the motor vehicle? If not, is there any law that says the one doing the supervising must be anything other than a licensed driver (in other words, does the law actually say you have to be sober)? .
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Maybe, but who it at fault if the student pilot crashes the plane, The student or the CFI? When teaching my daughter to drive, it was clear to me that if she had an accident it would go against my license and my insurance. When she was learning to drive with her permit my insurance company didn’t even have me put her on the policy because it just didn’t matter. It was gonna be my fault. I only had to put her on the policy once she actually got her license.
 
bradg33 said:
As to the child endangerment point, that just seems like a silly overblown charge. The kid is 16, and can likely very safely operate the car. Depending on the state, he very well may be totally legal driving solo. And at 16, picking up his drunk father really shouldn't be "traumatic." I'd bet a fair amount of money he's seen plenty of drunks at 16, though mostly his high school buddies at parties.
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I think you’re confusing common sense with the US Justice system.
 
Morgan3820 said:
Maybe, but who it at fault if the student pilot crashes the plane, The student or the CFI? When teaching my daughter to drive, it was clear to me that if she had an accident it would go against my license and my insurance. When she was learning to drive with her permit my insurance company didn’t even have me put her on the policy because it just didn’t matter. It was gonna be my fault. I only had to put her on the policy once she actually got her license.
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Fault from a liability standpoint doesn't necessarily mean fault from a criminal standpoint. Just because the supervising parent in the car might be civilly liable for an accident caused by the child/student driver doesn't mean that the supervising parent is legally "operating" the motor vehicle such that the DUI laws could apply.
 
I'm with the OP here. Seems like a good decision to get a ride home, he probably should have thought through the ins and outs (ie, son can't come pick me up without someone supervising him on the WAY to the pickup), but otherwise, this doesn't seem that egregious, and it seems like the law is way over reacting.

did he operate a MV while under the influence? NO, in fact, he took pains (tried getting a cab, and called a known sober person for a ride when he couldn't get a cab).
Did he endanger his child? I don't think so, and I've seen no evidence that there was anything that his son did, or was asked to do that was dangerous to the son or the driving public.

While this may technically be against the law, and may also go against FAA regs, it seems like he's being punished for a "letter of the law" vs an "intent" (don't drive drunk and endanger people) charge.

I may have known kids as young as 13 that drove adults home when the adults were in the tank. That 13 year old was much happier being the driver than the passenger with a drunk driver at the wheel.

Carry on with the condemnation...
 
Morgan3820 said:
I did answer his question, if you look closer at my last posting. But what we think doesn’t really matter. Happily, I’m pretty sure the system is going to fix this one even with our sanctimony.
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Yes, I see you edited it as well. And your answer is incorrect.
 
Whether the charges stick depends on the unmentioned state. In NC, we have a separate "Impaired supervision or instruction" charge. The penalties are roughly the same as for DUI. It's a class 2 misdemeanor and comes with a license suspension.

The supervising driver is akin to a required crewmember in the aircraft, you don't get off just because you're not handling the controls.
 
Lindberg said:
So this is now the sanctimonious ******* forum? And not one of you answered his question.:rolleyes:

OP: 61.15 requires reporting of motor vehicle actions including convictions or license suspensions, but not the arrest itself. You might need to report the arrest on your next medical form, as an arrest "involving driving while intoxicated," depending on the details of the charges against you. If you avoid conviction and basic med is an option for you, you might consider it.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...sh/ash_programs/investigations/airmen_duidwi/
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Yeah but the next medical requires reprot of the arrest.

You needed an adult, fully licensed driver.
And, 0.19 is tolerant.

And 0.19 is not going to be lookd upon eaisly by the FAA.k It has been a very very long tiem since anyone with 0.19 wasn't at a minimum conisdered to have at least abused let alone meet FAA's dependent criteria => HIMS! :(
 
bbchien said:
Yeah but the next medical requires reprot of the arrest.

You needed an adult, fully licensed driver.
And, 0.19 is tolerant.

And 0.19 is not going to be lookd upon eaisly by the FAA.k It has been a very very long tiem since anyone with 0.19 wasn't at a minimum conisdered to have at least abused let alone meet FAA's dependent criteria => HIMS! :(
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Bruce, don’t you also have to report the arrest to the FAA within 60 days?
 
Morgan3820 said:
Bruce, don’t you also have to report the arrest to the FAA within 60 days?
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Only (1) Conviction, or (2) Administrative action against your license. That starts the 60 days.

To those of you who think this is a DUI thing only, no it is not. It is medical evlaution of the public as well as medical record of alcohol behviour. The OP is in a "no Bueno" siutaiton, for sure.
 
Morgan3820 said:
You mean like my attorney acquaintance who spent 90 days in the county jail for a similar offense? Where he used a similar common sense defense.
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I said unlikely, not impossible.
 
The interwebs and sanctimony go hand in hand. Next will be a grammar nazi to say that your UR is the you're of your yore. (not the OP)

The only question I would have is did this 16yo drive there legally in your state? If yes, I think its beatable easily. If no, then a big ooopsy.
Shop well for an atty., plenty of bigger things get kicked out. Good luck.
 
I once joked with my brother about using his son with a learner's permit as a designated driver.

Turns out that the driver is still PIC (like was mentioned above), and is liable for any and all traffic violations, including DUI - you are the PIC so you get the speeding ticket, or whatever else applies. This is a State by State deal, but it's very real and probably applies to most States.

Something else to consider: That child endangerment charge. Be careful with this one. FAA may or may not make a deal about it, but it may come back to bite down the road.
 
Morgan3820 said:
Maybe, but who it at fault if the student pilot crashes the plane, The student or the CFI? When teaching my daughter to drive, it was clear to me that if she had an accident it would go against my license and my insurance. When she was learning to drive with her permit my insurance company didn’t even have me put her on the policy because it just didn’t matter. It was gonna be my fault. I only had to put her on the policy once she actually got her license.
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I was listed as a secondary driver on Dad's policy even while a student driver - Arizona. Once I got the license I was still a secondary driver because the car was Dad's.
 
There are really two issues here.
The first, which is a legal issue that could differ depending on the state, has to do with "who is PIC in the car". We don't know the exact state so we can't truly answer the question.
The second is blowing an 0.19 in public. That is just bad, and also dumb. There are repercussions to our actions. I am with the guys that think he needs to sell the plane. He is going to lose this one with the FAA. Maybe he is lucky and his medical expires before the actual action that requires him to report it anyway happens.
 
Kenny Taylor said:
Tough break. Fight it. I have a hard time seeing how a court would equate "failing to properly supervise student driver" with "driving under the influence."
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If he hadn’t been drunk he might not have allowed his son to commit a traffic violation.

“As he pulled out, he made an illegal turn and was pulled over. ”

A drunk supervisor and a learner who breaks a law? I have an easy time seeing how a court will find him guilty.
 
thito01 said:
There are really two issues here.
The first, which is a legal issue that could differ depending on the state, has to do with "who is PIC in the car". We don't know the exact state so we can't truly answer the question.
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It is a reasonable guess to me that if the LEO charged the OP with DWI and child endangerment, he did so because those laws exist in that state. He might be able to plea down to a lesser charge but, baring some procedural issue, it will be hard walk away on this, I think. Some states (NY) if the supervising driver blows more than 0.18 BAC it is a felony.
 
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