structural:scholar_edition, information:classification
Definition

In typical usage of the terms DUI, DWI, end OWI, the offense consists of driving a vehicle while affected by alcohol or drugs. However, in the majority of US states, the criminal offense may not involve actual driving of the vehicle but rather may broadly include operating or being physically in control of a motor vehicle while under the influence, even if the person charged is not in the act of driving. For example, individuals found in the driver's seat of a car while intoxicated and holding the car keys, even while parked, may be charged with DUI because they are in control of the vehicle. In contrast, California only makes it illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence, requiring actual "driving". "The distinction between these two terms is material, for it is generally held that the word 'drive,' as used in statutes of this kind, usually denotes movement of the vehicle in some direction, whereas the word 'operate' has a broader meaning so as to include not only the motion of the vehicle but also acts which engage the machinery of the vehicle that, alone or in sequence, will set in motion the motive power of the vehicle."

Many DUI laws apply also to motorcycling, boating, piloting aircraft, use of mobile farm machinery such as tractors and combines, riding horses or driving a horse-drawn vehicle, bicycling, or skateboarding, possibly with different BAC level than driving. In some jurisdictions, there are separate charges depending on the vehicle used. In Washington state, for instance, BUI (bicycling under the influence) laws recognize that intoxicated cyclists are likely to primarily endanger themselves. Accordingly, law enforcement officers are empowered only to protect the cyclist by impounding the bicycle rather than filing DUI charges.

George Smith, a London Taxi cab driver, ended up being the first person to be convicted of driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated, on September 10, 1897, under the "drunk in charge" provision of the 1872 Licensing Act. He was fined 25 shillings, which is equivalent to £179 in 2023.