Vehicle · Open container
Open Container Laws by State: Alcohol in a Car
Whether an open container of alcohol is allowed in a car in each state, who the ban covers, the penalty, and the narrow exceptions for limos, buses, and the living quarters of a motorhome. Each cited to the statute.
Read this first: the ban usually covers passengers too
An open container law bans having an open alcoholic drink in the passenger area of a car on a public road. Most states write the rule to reach the driver and every passenger, because a federal highway-funding incentive (23 U.S.C. §154) rewards states that ban both. So the common belief that a passenger may legally drink while someone else drives is wrong in these states.
The rule is about the open container and where it sits, not about being drunk. A sealed, unopened bottle is fine, and so is an open container kept in the trunk or another area outside the reach of the people in the car. The usual exceptions are narrow: passengers in a limo, bus, or taxi, and the living quarters of a motorhome or trailer. Every figure links to the statute, and pages still pending verification say so.
Pick your state
The verdict, the penalty, and the statute on each card.
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What these pages are, and what they aren't
Each state page is a reference for the open container rule and the neutral steps to stay clear of it. They are deliberately not advice for your stop: what counts as the passenger area, and how the ban is charged, can turn on the facts, so each page links to the statute. This is legal information, not legal advice.