Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
You start a fire for insurance proceeds, the criminal liability is radically different if someone happens to be asleep inside, you shoot a gun in the air, the results vary dramatically on whether it comes down into someone; you punch someone in the face, it changes things a whole lot if they unfortunately fracture their skull and die falling on a rock.
AFAIK, all three have provisions for a good faith attempt to commit the act without causing the indicated harm; checking the building to a reasonable standard before burning, (at least here, it's legal to burn your own building down in a safe and otherwise legal manner, though the insurance claim would be fraud) firing the gun in the air in a location where one can reasonably believe no one else is within range, or putting on boxing gloves and sparring headgear, to use your own examples. The only way one could do that with drunk driving is to stay on private property under the driver's control...and
AFAIK, at least some states don't consider that a crime.