In re Queen T

In In re Queen T. (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 1143, an intoxicated minor was operating the steering wheel of a vehicle while another person controlled the gas pedal and brake. The individual controlling the steering wheel made a left turn into the path of an oncoming motorcycle, causing injuries to its driver and passenger. The court found a person might be in physical control of a vehicle even though it is not in motion. (Ibid.) The person controlling only the steering wheel can consequently be a driver by virtue of controlling a vehicle regardless of its forward motion. (Ibid.) Ergo, two individuals may simultaneously be driving a vehicle. (See ibid. at fn. 2.) However, the court emphasized it was the act of negotiating a turn that put the vehicle in the wrong lane and thus it was the intoxicated minor who was in control of the vehicle's violation of the motorcycle's right-of-way. (Ibid., )