Quote :

"Here’s a quiz. Ashley Angel, who is 21 and a senior in college, leaves the library, where she has been diligently studying for mid-term exams for the previous six hours, to drive to a party a few miles from campus. On the way, she picks up her friends, Bethany Bedlam and Diana Daring, who also are 21. Bedlam and Daring have spent the last few hours gearing up for the party rather than studying. Bedlam gets into cab of Angel’s pick-up truck with an open bottle of King Cobra malt liquor in her hand. Daring hops into the truck bed with an open beer. At the next stoplight, Angel drives up next to a police vehicle. The officer sees Bedlam holding the bottle of malt liquor, which clearly is half-full, though the cap is screwed on top of the bottle. From her perch in the bed of the truck, Daring drinks from her bottle of beer and waves to the officer. When the light turns green, the police officer pulls behind Angel’s car and activates the blue lights and siren on her cruiser. Which of the following is a true statement? A. Angel has violated North Carolina’s open container law by driving a motor vehicle on a highway while there is an open alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of the motor vehicle. B. Bedlam has violated North Carolina’s open container law by possessing an open alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle. C. Daring has violated North Carolina’s open container law by possessing an open alcoholic beverage and consuming it in the passenger area of a motor vehicle. D. All of the above statements are true. E. Only B and C are true. F. There is no open container violation in this case. I wanted to print the correct answer in tiny font upside down at the end of this post. But Jeff, our resident blog meister, doesn’t know how to do that. [Editor's note: Don't blame the messenger -- I don't think our blog software supports upside down text! Tiny, I could do.] So, to avoid spoiling the surprise by putting the answer right here, I’ll devote the rest of this post to a discussion of the controlling statute. The prohibition against transporting an open container is codified in G.S. 20-138.7. There are two types of violations. First, it is an infraction to possess an alcoholic beverage in other than the unopened manufacturer’s original container or to consume an alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle while the vehicle is on the highway. See G.S. 20-138.7(a1). The passenger area of a motor vehicle is defined as “the area designed to seat the driver and passengers and any area within the reach of a seated driver or passenger, including the glove compartment.” G.S. 20-138.7(f). Neither the trunk nor the area behind the last upright back seat of a station wagon, hatchback, or similar vehicle is considered part of the passenger area. Thus, the bed of Angel’s pick-up truck, where Daring is seated, is not part of the passenger area. There are a few exceptions to the rule prohibiting possession and consumption of open alcoholic beverages in the passenger area of a motor vehicle. It’s okay to consume or possess an open alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle that is designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation. Ergo an of-age bride and groom can sip champagne in the limousine as they are leaving the reception without fear of violating the law. Folks also may lawfully consume or possess open containers of alcohol in the living quarters of a mobile home, house car, or house trailer. (In case you are wondering, it takes more than a pillow and change of clothes to qualify as a “house car.” Such a vehicle must have at least four of the following facilities: cooking, refrigeration, self-contained toilet, heating or air conditioning, a portable water supply system including a faucet and sink, separate 110-125 volt electrical power supply, or an LP gas supply. G.S. 20-4.01(27)(d2).) Thus, as you’ve no doubt deduced, Bedlam has violated the open container law. But only Bedlam, and not Angel or Daring, may be cited for this infraction, since only the person who possesses or consumes an alcoholic beverage in violation of G.S. 20-138.1(a1) may be charged with this infraction. What about Angel? The other type of open container offense defined in G.S. 20-138.7 is a more serious violation, a Class 3 misdemeanor for first-time offenders, and may be committed only by the driver of a motor vehicle. G.S. 20-138.7(a) prohibits driving a motor vehicle on a highway while there is an alcoholic beverage in the passenger area in other than the unopened manufacturer’s original container if the driver is consuming alcohol or alcohol remains in the driver’s body. Angel, who has been studying all day, presumably has no alcohol remaining in her body and she is not consuming alcohol. Thus, she has not violated G.S. 20-138.7(a). There are a few more statutory oddities worth noting. “Motor vehicle” has a special definition under G.S. 20-138.7. In this context, the term “means only those types of motor vehicles which North Carolina law requires to be registered, whether the vehicle is registered in North Carolina or another jurisdiction.” G.S. 20-138.7(a3). So the offense can’t be committed in a golf cart–a device considered a motor vehicle in other contexts but which cannot be registered with DMV. See G.S. 20-54(8). G.S. 20-138.7(b) provides that open container offenses are alcohol-related offenses subject to the implied-consent provisions of G.S. 20-16.2. Does this mean the officer may arrest Bedlam and take her to the police station for a breath test? I don’t think so. Infractions are non-criminal violations of the law, for which a person may not be arrested. See G.S. 14-3.1. I doubt the legislature intended to supersede the rule in G.S. 15A-1113(b), (c), which allows a law enforcement officer who believes a person has committed an infraction to detain a person for a reasonable period in order to issue and serve a citation and, in very limited circumstances, to take the person before judicial official to determine if a bond is necessary, by authorizing a longer and more intrusive detention of a person charged with violating G.S. 20-138.7(a1). Instead, I think an officer may require submission to a chemical analysis only for drivers charged with the misdemeanor offense. In any event, it seems unlikely that drivers charged solely with violating G.S. 20-138.7(a) are hauled to the breath testing room very frequently, since G.S. 20-138.7(d) authorizes the administration of an alcohol screening test and reliance upon its results in court for the purpose of determining whether alcohol was present in the driver’s body. Tags: alcohol, "

http://sogweb.sog.unc.edu/blogs/ncclaw


So the following is true?

1 - It's legal to have/drink open containers in the bed of a pickup truck (on the way to a State football game for example)?

2 - It's ok to have have/drink open containers in a taxi?

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 5:23 PM. Reason : V - truth]

8/1/2011 5:18:54 PM

Quote :

"From her perch in the bed of the truck, Daring drinks from her bottle of beer and waves to the officer. "

Even if this is 100 percent legal, I never let this dumb fuck ride with me again.

8/1/2011 5:21:30 PM

What a dumb series of laws. Are you drunk and driving recklessly? You should be arrested.

What's the reasoning behind open container laws? That the drunk people are going to do something crazy that causes the driver to lose focus? If that's the justification, then it should be illegal for drunk people to be passengers at all.

8/1/2011 5:26:44 PM

I should be able to buy a beer at a gas station and drink it while driving down the highway, so long as I'm under the legal limit.

8/1/2011 5:43:23 PM

...while smoking a blunt.

8/1/2011 5:44:17 PM

Quote :

"So the following is true? 1 - It's legal to have/drink open containers in the bed of a pickup truck (on the way to a State football game for example)? Yes and No; you can articulate it (i.e. single cab, window down, passenger in bed is seated against the cab). 2 - It's ok to have have/drink open containers in a taxi?Yes, but most taxis have a policy against."

8/1/2011 6:27:51 PM

itt a cop confirms that the law really doesn't matter and it's really just up to the cop

8/1/2011 6:34:45 PM

What was the answer, I don't feel like reading all that shit

8/1/2011 6:44:31 PM

B

8/1/2011 7:02:26 PM

but the cop says possibly C too

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 7:37 PM. Reason : you know, depending on how you articulate it]

8/1/2011 7:37:31 PM

the answer is that cops will charge you with an open container violation regardless of the law because they can

8/1/2011 9:19:54 PM

Here's how it goes:

Not C
Not C
Not C
Not C
Not C
Not C
Not C
Daring drinks from her bottle of beer and waves to the officer.
C

8/1/2011 9:32:46 PM

Quote :

"Even if this is 100 percent legal, I never let this dumb fuck ride with me again."

lol i thought the same thing

8/2/2011 1:57:16 PM

I miss living in a country with liberal alcohol laws

8/2/2011 2:08:29 PM

I'm surprised we haven't banned boozing in truck beds yet.

Good for us!

8/2/2011 2:11:21 PM

i thought it was illegal to ride in the bed of a truck regardless

8/2/2011 2:13:45 PM

no

[Edited on August 2, 2011 at 2:19 PM. Reason : NCGS §20-135.2B]

8/2/2011 2:17:12 PM

only on the highway I think

8/2/2011 2:18:56 PM

this is similar to the seat belt laws, where a person could get cited for not having one on while in the cab, but if they are sitting in the bed of the truck, (which most would agree is less safe in general) then there's no problem


oh, and

Quote :

" Even if this is 100 percent legal, I never let this dumb fuck ride with me again. "

8/2/2011 2:21:16 PM

^^wrong again

everything is right here: http://www.buckleupnc.org/laws_truck.cfm

including the text of the NCGS that deals with this

8/2/2011 2:26:35 PM

Quote :

"It's ok to have have/drink open containers in a taxi?Yes, but most taxis have a policy against"

Even if they let you drink in the back of a taxi you can get nailed with an open container violation as soon as you get out onto the sidewalk (assuming you're going out to a bar, and not home). In fact the cops prey on this behavior on Long Island, NY. Most cabbies there don't care if you're drinking in the car, but when you get out of the cab be ready to be pounced on by officers "doing their job" and keeping us all safe. My friend almost got an open container ticket the other day, regardless of the fact that she started walking to a trash can the moment she left the cab.

8/2/2011 3:00:45 PM

What if you're consuming in the 3rd row of an suv, minivan, or crossover-type vehicle? Would that be considered the same as a trunk area of a station wagon, or a passenger area because it has seats?

8/3/2011 11:35:50 AM

What if you're consuming in the trunk of a moving car?

8/3/2011 5:18:45 PM