State v. Henderson, Minn.Ct.App., 1/30/2017. Backseat driving, actually passenger seat driving, is still, well, driving, or in the parlance of the criminal vehicular operation laws "operating a motor vehicle." Mr. Henderson got annoyed with the driving of the "driver" - the person sitting behind the steering wheel - and grabbed the wheel. The laws of motion and gravity being what they are, the car turned in the direction that Mr. Henderson charted. Unfortunately, Mr. Henderson had no access to the brake pedal from the passenger seat and so his wheel maneuver caused the driver to lose control of the car, which crashed upside down. This got the attention of the cops, which got their attention on Mr. Henderson, which lead them to charge him with criminal vehicular operation.
Mr. Henderson said that to "operate" a motor vehicle required that he activate or manipulate any of the controls of a motor vehicle necessary to put the vehicle in motion. He borrowed this definition from the jury instructions for driving under the influence of alcohol. He said that grabbing the wheel kept the car in motion but did not put the car in motion; for that you needed access to the gas pedal. Neither the trial court nor the court of appeals was persuaded:
We agree that the manipulation of the steering wheel of a moving motor vehicle by a passenger constitutes “operation” of a motor vehicle under Minn. Stat. § 609.21. This conclusion is supported by the policy of giving impaired driving laws the broadest possible effect in favor of public safety, the plain meaning of the word “operate,” and the fact that the vehicle was not stationary when appellant manipulated the steering wheel.
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