Lack of Actual Physical Control

Colorado courts typically examine numerous factors when determining whether a person exercised actual physical control over a vehicle.

These may include:

Location of the Person Inside the Vehicle

Where was the person found?

• Driver’s seat
• Passenger seat
• Back seat
• Reclined position
• Outside the vehicle

Someone asleep in the driver’s seat may be viewed differently than someone sleeping in the back seat with blankets and the keys stored away.

Location of the Keys

The location and accessibility of the keys can become critically important.

Courts may examine whether:

• the keys were in the ignition,
• the keys were in the person’s pocket,
• the keys were inside the vehicle,
• the keys were outside the vehicle,
• the vehicle used push-button ignition,
• the vehicle could easily be started.

Whether the Engine Was Running

An engine running for heat or air conditioning may become a significant factor for prosecutors.

However, the engine running does not automatically prove guilt. The surrounding circumstances still matter.

Location of the Vehicle

Courts may also consider where the vehicle was located:

• parked legally,
• parked on the roadside,
• partially blocking traffic,
• parked in a parking lot,
• stuck in snow,
• disabled or inoperable.

A legally parked vehicle in a parking lot may create a very different factual scenario than a vehicle stopped in the middle of a roadway.

Vehicle Operability

If the vehicle could not realistically be operated, that may weaken the prosecution’s argument.

Issues involving:

• mechanical failure,
• dead batteries,
• lack of fuel,
• collision damage,

may become relevant in certain cases.