OVI is the abbreviation for "Operating a Vehicle Impaired". Ohio’s General Assembly amended the
drunk driving / DUI statute to broaden the offense from driving
under the influence, to Operating a Vehicle Impaired. The big difference is that operation does not require that the vehicle actually be moving!!! Hell, the vehicle doesn’t even have to be running so long as you are in the driver’s seat and the keys are within reach.
To make it worse, even if the police officer can’t prove that you actually drove the vehicle while impaired, you can still be charged with an OVI, as long as it can be reasonably inferred that you drove while impaired. Like he finds you in the car along side the road passed out, out
in the middle of no where -- no way could you get there without driving while you were drunk. You get an OVI.