I'm really appalled by the witch-hunting that's directed at the passed out guy.
Basically, this thread is full of people saying that the guy deserved to be punished with a DUI because it kinda looks like he was intending to drive home.
I understand that in most jurisdictions, he is technically in violation of the law. That's not what we're arguing about. We're arguing about whether or not OP did the right thing by helping this person circumvent being technically guilty of DUI.
This guy could have realistically turned on his car for one of two reasons: Either for heat or AC, or to drive home drunk. We do know that heat and AC both require the car to be on. Alternatively, he could have thought to himself "Yep, I'm going to drive, and I don't care that I'm nearly blackout drunk." The fact of the matter is that either explanation is 100% plausible and there simply isn't enough information in this post to make a meaningful conclusion about which it is.
I can't believe how many people are jumping to the worst conclusion about this guy. As a rule, I think people should be given the benefit of the dobut. I mean, I know this is total hyperbole, but assuming the worst about people's intentions and then wanting them to be punished with the full force of the law is kind of how the Salem Witch Trials and many similar injustices throughout history occurred. The founding fathers knew this, and to help prevent these kinds of injustices, set up very strict protections for the accused in the US Constitution. (Which are still in place today.)
And even if the guy started his car because he intended to drive, this guy very well might have learned the lesson he would have learned from actually getting a DUI without the harsh consequences.
I think it's really shitty how all of you are jumping to conclusions about the guy behind the wheel. I know everyone hates drunk drivers, but we don't even know for sure that this guy intended on being one. You're wanting to punish him based on his intentions, which you realistically cannot know unless we talk to the dude in the picture.
tl;dr: You are all literally as bad as the people who sentenced women to death in the Salem Witch Trials. OP did the right thing, ya'll are haters.