# Flask full of Whiskey in the car. Can you get ticketed for open container? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539 "2011-08-21T16:55:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/1 "2011-08-21T16:55:12Z")
I just bought this set of flasks [http://www.tabletopchristmas.com/hmwffs4151.html](http://www.tabletopchristmas.com/hmwffs4151.html) It got me thinking or 2 questions: 1. If you have a flask of booze with you in your pocket in a car and get pulled over can they get you for having an open container of booze while driving since it’s not technically sealed? 2. Also, there is a little keychain flask included (pretty cool). If you have that full on your keychain and get pulled over could you get busted for driving with an open container as well? If they can ticket you what would be the legal way to transport in a flask? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/2 "2011-08-21T17:02:10Z")
[Looks like a broken seal means an open container.](http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=15435) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/3 "2011-08-21T17:14:23Z")
Yes, those are open containers. However, in most states (or at least in mine), you’d be in the clear to carry them in your trunk. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/4 "2011-08-21T17:19:08Z")
Does the very back portion of a mini-van count as a trunk? I always wonder about vehicles that don’t actually have a separate trunk space. I note that everything is saying ‘readily accessible’. What’s the legal definition of readily accessible? If the flask falls between the driver’s seat and the door, is that readily accessible? Because I’ve lost things down there that have had to stay until the trip was over because I could not access them by my definition of readily. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/5 "2011-08-21T17:26:09Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Does the very back portion of a mini-van count as a trunk? I always wonder about vehicles that don’t actually have a separate trunk space. I note that everything is saying ‘readily accessible’. What’s the legal definition of readily accessible? If the flask falls between the driver’s seat and the door, is that readily accessible? Because I’ve lost things down there that have had to stay until the trip was over because I could not access them by my definition of readily. To the best of my knowledge if you don’t have a trunk, the area behind the last row of seats. I think it’s more or less “out of reach of the driver.” I’ll see if I can find something. ETA so far I’ve got " Containers of alcoholic beverages with the seal broken must be transported in the trunk, or in a portion of the vehicle not normally occupied by passengers if the vehicle does not have a trunk - not the glove compartment" Obviously, that’s not good enough. Let’s see what else I can find. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/6 "2011-08-21T17:27:45Z")
Depends where you are. You might need to clarify. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/7 "2011-08-21T17:31:33Z")
It’s generally open to the cop’s interpretation, and the judge’s. If they want to get picky, they’ll get picky. If they don’t, they won’t. Around here, I’ve heard cops say “readily accessible” means “you don’t have to stop the car to get at it.” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/8 "2011-08-21T17:40:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It’s generally open to the cop’s interpretation, and the judge’s. If they want to get picky, they’ll get picky. If they don’t, they won’t. > > Around here, I’ve heard cops say “readily accessible” means “you don’t have to stop the car to get at it.” I’m coming up with federal guidelines saying it has to be in a ‘storage area\*’. Of course, one could argue that ‘under the seat’ is a storage area. But when I got my bartender’s license, they said the hatch area was perfectly acceptable. Anytime I have an open bottle, that’s where I put it. Of course, I’ve never been pulled over with an open bottle, so I would have been safe with it on my lap as well ;). Also, I learned when I took that class that a 6 pack of beer, with one can missing is technically an open container. Whether or not a single can of beer rolling around on the front seat constitutes an open container, I’m not sure. \*A motor vehicle trunk, storage, or luggage compartment or a truck bed, storage, or cargo compartment. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/9 "2011-08-21T18:00:52Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m coming up with federal guidelines saying it has to be in a ‘storage area\*’. What federal guidelines are these? DUI and open container laws are at the state level, not federal. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/10 "2011-08-21T18:11:11Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > What federal guidelines are these? DUI and open container laws are at the state level, not federal. > **[Open-container law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_open_container_laws)** > > An open-container law is a law which regulates or prohibits drinking alcohol in public by limiting the existence of open alcoholic beverage containers in certain areas, as well as the active consumption of alcohol in those areas. "Public places" in this context refers to openly public places such as sidewalks, parks and vehicles. It does not include nominally private spaces which are open to the public, such as bars, restaurants and stadiums. > An open-container law may also refer to the prohibiti... It has to do with being in compliance with a certain federal act to receive federal funding for highways. Not everyone is in compliance. Either way, from what I could tell, even though open container laws might be on the state or local levels, I’m guessing they either base it on this OR this is based on what most states use. I was just trying to figure out if a hatch was a safe place to keep an open container and I’m reasonably sure it is. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/11 "2011-08-21T18:17:16Z")
Where does an empty bottle of booze fit into this? I realized the other day that I had an empty bottle of one of those little $2 one-shot bottles of whiskey in my glove compartment from way back when (didn’t have a trash can to throw it into, so I just stuck it in the car to dispose of later, which I promptly forgot.) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/12 "2011-08-21T18:22:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Where does an empty bottle of booze fit into this? I realized the other day that I had an empty bottle of one of those little $2 one-shot bottles of whiskey in my glove compartment from way back when (didn’t have a trash can to throw it into, so I just stuck it in the car to dispose of later, which I promptly forgot.) I’m reasonably sure you could be ticketed, because it would be a reasonable assumption that you emptied the bottle while drinking and driving. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/13 "2011-08-21T18:22:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Where does an empty bottle of booze fit into this? I realized the other day that I had an empty bottle of one of those little $2 one-shot bottles of whiskey in my glove compartment from way back when (didn’t have a trash can to throw it into, so I just stuck it in the car to dispose of later, which I promptly forgot.) It’s open, I’d keep it in the trunk. As far as the officer is concerned, he’s going to assume you drank it while you were driving. Especially if you have any alcohol on your breath to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/14 "2011-08-21T18:24:18Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m reasonably sure you could be ticketed, because it would be a reasonable assumption that you emptied the bottle while drinking and driving. This is what I assumed. I guess better be fined for littering than open container. (ETA: Or, yeah, put it in the trunk.) ETA2: Are there states that allow passengers to drink (therefore, open containers would be allowed?) I know in my experiences in Hungary, the legal limit for drinking and driving was 0.00 (unlike the 0.08 here), but it was permitted for passengers to drink in the car. Any places here like this? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/15 "2011-08-21T18:53:26Z")
[According to Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_open_container_laws), 8 states allow passengers to drink, and Mississippi allows drivers to drink so long as their blood alcohol remains below .08. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/16 "2011-08-21T20:25:15Z")
I can’t address the legal issues, just throwing out a suggestion. Back when I drove a pick-up truck with a regular cab, there were a couple of times when I drove with an opened bottle of alcohol (seal broken). I put the bottle in a plastic T-strap bag and tied the bag shut with a triple knot and placed it behind the driver’s seat. I never got stopped, but I figured if I had and the cop found the bottle, I could point to the bag having been tied shut and the fact that I was not driving under the influence (which a breath or blood test would have borne out). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/17 "2011-08-21T20:27:38Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > I can’t address the legal issues, just throwing out a suggestion. Back when I drove a pick-up truck with a regular cab, there were a couple of times when I drove with an opened bottle of alcohol (seal broken). I put the bottle in a plastic T-strap bag and tied the bag shut with a triple knot and placed it behind the driver’s seat. > > I never got stopped, but I figured if I had and the cop found the bottle, I could point to the bag having been tied shut and the fact that I was not driving under the influence (which a breath or blood test would have borne out). I don’t think it really matters how many times you knotted the bag. In a pickup truck, an open container belongs in the bed. The law is pretty specific about that. _Especially_ considering you could reach it while driving. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/18 "2011-08-21T21:04:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Mississippi allows drivers to drink so long as their blood alcohol remains below .08. Whoa. It wouldn’t even have occurred to me that this might be legal somewhere in the US. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/19 "2011-08-21T21:07:05Z")
From a cop friend: “We generally assume that the worst – since the container was reachable & drinkable by the driver, we will charge them with that. Then it’s up to the courts.” “Remember that these aren’t just average, innocent people – they were driving poorly enough to get noticed & pulled over. The odds that they were drinking out of that open container are pretty high.” ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539/20 "2011-08-21T21:10:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Whoa. It wouldn’t even have occurred to me that this might be legal somewhere in the US. Interesting. It was legal in both Montana and Wyoming to drink while driving (as long as they weren’t above the 0.08% level) until very recently… I think it’s still perfectly legal for passengers in Montana, Wyoming and Louisiana to drink, even though they aren’t listed in the Wikipedia article. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flask-full-of-whiskey-in-the-car-can-you-get-ticketed-for-open-container/593539.md?page=2)