Open Container as a Passanger Law?

Question

I was watching speeders and saw a passanger drinking a beer and the officer said it was legal in Maryland for the passanger to do so...what other states have this law?

Any one here ever been on speeders or cops? haha

Answer 1

No alcoholic beverage can be open in any type of vehicle. No all officers charge this unless someone in the vehicle gives the officer a reason if you know what I mean. Now it is charged if the driver has had alcohol to drink.

Answer 2

Not sure when that was filmed.  Maryland apparently has a law against passengers drinking alcohol now.  I don't work there so I'm not the know all end all of Maryland Law though.

Here is a good reference link I found:

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-01...

Something else to watch out for.  I have worked in Mississippi and thought they had passed an Open Container law since I moved back to NC.  Anyway, there was no open container law in MS (and may still not be) but many cities had ordinances against it and many counties in MS were dry making it illegal to have any drinking alcohol (even in sealed containers).  So the moral to the story is that just because a state does not have a law forbidding it the city or county might.