{ "version": "1.0", "schema": "https://entitymap.org/spec/v1.0", "publisher": { "name": "Tenfold Traffic", "url": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/" }, "generated": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "profile": "core", "verificationStatus": "generator-draft", "entities": [ { "entityId": "e_k2_guide", "@type": "Guide", "name": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region and State", "description": "Can a passenger legally drink or hold an open drink in a car? Region-by-region rules for every state and DC, the federal standard and the main exceptions.", "audienceType": "general", "hasChunks": [ { "chunkId": "c_001", "text": "For a typical trip, the answer is no. The 38 states that satisfy federal rules keep every occupant, passengers included, from drinking or keeping an opened alcoholic beverage within reach while the car is on a public road, and Washington, DC and several other states have passenger bans of their own.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "definition", "audienceType": "general" } ] }, { "entityId": "e_k2_law", "@type": "Concept", "name": "Open container law", "description": "A state law that bars drinking alcohol or holding an open alcohol container in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public road.", "audienceType": "general", "hasChunks": [ { "chunkId": "c_002", "text": "Tennessee and Mississippi leave explicit room for them, and Wyoming's state law does not apply inside a municipality that has its own open container ordinance.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "definition", "audienceType": "general" }, { "chunkId": "c_003", "text": "A sober rider usually breaks no open container law simply by being in the car, but the driver answers under DUI law, and certain states also punish handing your vehicle to someone you know is intoxicated.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" } ], "relations": [ { "predicate": "REGULATED_BY", "targetId": "e_k2_cfr", "targetName": "23 CFR Part 1270" }, { "predicate": "DESCRIBED_BY", "targetId": "e_k2_guide", "targetName": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region and State" } ] }, { "entityId": "e_k2_usc", "@type": "Regulation", "name": "23 U.S.C. 154", "description": "The federal open container program added by TEA-21 in 1998, which sets what state law must contain.", "audienceType": "general", "hasChunks": [ { "chunkId": "c_004", "text": "Federal involvement dates to TEA-21, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which Congress passed in 1998. The provision is 23 U.S.C. 154, and NHTSA and FHWA implement it through 23 CFR Part 1270.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" }, { "chunkId": "c_005", "text": "The provision is 23 U.S.C. 154, and NHTSA and FHWA implement it through 23 CFR Part 1270. It works on states, not on drivers or riders: there is no federal ticket for a passenger with a beer.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" } ] }, { "entityId": "e_k2_cfr", "@type": "Regulation", "name": "23 CFR Part 1270", "description": "The federal regulation listing what a qualifying state open container law must cover.", "audienceType": "general", "hasChunks": [ { "chunkId": "c_006", "text": "To satisfy 23 CFR 1270.4, a state statute must meet these conditions:", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" }, { "chunkId": "c_007", "text": "Implementing regulation, 23 CFR Part 1270 (eCFR)", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" } ], "relations": [ { "predicate": "DEPENDS_ON", "targetId": "e_k2_usc", "targetName": "23 U.S.C. 154" } ] }, { "entityId": "e_k2_fhwa", "@type": "Organization", "name": "Federal Highway Administration", "description": "The federal agency that reserves highway funds from states whose laws fall short of the standard.", "audienceType": "general", "hasChunks": [ { "chunkId": "c_008", "text": "Everything here was checked in October 2026 against federal law, the Federal Highway Administration's latest compliance list and the state codes. These rules are amended often, so verify the statute and any city ordinance before relying on a single entry.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" }, { "chunkId": "c_009", "text": "On October 1 of each fiscal year, FHWA reserves 2.5 percent of a noncompliant state's apportionments under the National Highway Performance Program and the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, and the state elects how to divide it between Section 402 alcohol-impaired driving programs and Highway Safety Improvement Program activities.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" } ] }, { "entityId": "e_k2_notice", "@type": "Regulation", "name": "FHWA Notice N 4510.916", "description": "The October 1, 2026 notice listing the states and DC that fall short of the open container standard for fiscal year 2027.", "audienceType": "general", "hasChunks": [ { "chunkId": "c_010", "text": "FHWA Notice N 4510.916, issued October 1, 2026 for fiscal year 2027, applies the reservation to the twelve states marked \"Fails federal standard\" in the table below and to the District of Columbia.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" }, { "chunkId": "c_011", "text": "FHWA N 4510.916, fiscal year 2027 apportionments and Section 154 list", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" } ], "relations": [ { "predicate": "PRODUCED_BY", "targetId": "e_k2_fhwa", "targetName": "Federal Highway Administration" } ] }, { "entityId": "e_k2_co", "@type": "Regulation", "name": "C.R.S. 42-4-1305", "description": "Colorado's open container statute, which covers anyone in the passenger area of a vehicle.", "audienceType": "general", "hasChunks": [ { "chunkId": "c_012", "text": "Colorado also leaves the front seat passenger under the ban.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" }, { "chunkId": "c_013", "text": "Colorado addresses the issue in C.R.S. 42-4-1305. A person sitting in a motor vehicle's passenger area may not knowingly drink alcohol or possess an opened alcoholic beverage container when the vehicle is on a public highway or the highway right-of-way.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? 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Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" }, { "chunkId": "c_015", "text": "A person sitting in a motor vehicle's passenger area may not knowingly drink alcohol or possess an opened alcoholic beverage container when the vehicle is on a public highway or the highway right-of-way.", "sourceUrl": "https://mosslanternguide.xyz/can-passengers-drink-alcohol-in-a-car/", "pageTitle": "Can Passengers Drink Alcohol in a Car? Rules by Region", "publisher": "Tenfold Traffic", "retrieved": "2026-11-01T12:00:00Z", "contentType": "evidence", "audienceType": "general" } ] } ] }