Question about intoxication consequences regarding Teslas
This question is just to satiate my curiosity; I am not aware of anybody actually experiencing this problem at this time.
I was watching a video in passing (sorry, I did not think to save the link to share) and a lady was arrested. She was drunk and became quite beligerant. At some point, she went back to her car to search for her phone charger. I have no idea what she needed a phone charger for during a conversation with the police, but you never know what's going through people's minds when they're drunk. She started the car to turn on the lights to look for her charger. At the end of the video, the lady was arrested. One of the reasons the officer cited for her arrest was "operating a vehicle while under the influence." I am not aware of her actually driving the vehicle at any point in this altercation.
He explained that his justification for this claim was that she started her car while drunk. I'm not sure what state this occurred in.
As a Tesla owner, this got me thinking. What constitutes starting or operating our vehicles considering there is no point that we have to actually start our car? If I were to be drunk just sitting in my driver's seat, could I reasonably be arrested for operating my vehicle while intoxicated?
I live in North Carolina, but I would be interested in knowing how different states may interpret this hypothetical. Again, I have no interest in testing this; I'm just curious.
Thanks everybody!