Court Opinion

ID: 9684330
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:53:58.389033+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:55.003218
License: Public Domain

MICHAEL A. WOLFF, Judge,
dissenting.
This is a close case and I appreciate the principal opinion’s attempt to clarify the law as to what it means to operate a vehicle. But, on balance, I agree with Judge White’s analysis.
No one wants a person in Cox’s condition to drive. That means it should be lawful for him to get in his car, run the engine for heat or air-conditioning, and stay put. There is a risk to Cox of carbon monoxide poisoning when he opts to sleep in his ear with the engine running. But that hazard is to him only.
The hazard the legislative change appears intended to avoid is the danger to the public of an intoxicated person actually driving a car. The next time an intoxicated person such as Cox is moved to start a *553car engine for comfort, perhaps he should then crawl into the back seat for his sobering slumber.