US Trends

vehicle in which its legal to drink alcohol

In most places, it is illegal to drink alcohol in a moving vehicle, but there are a few narrow exceptions where drinking in certain vehicles or situations is allowed (or at least not clearly prohibited). Laws are very local and can change, so you always need to check the exact rules where you are.

Key idea: “open container” vs “drunk driving”

Two different questions get mixed up a lot:

  • Is it legal to have or drink from an open container of alcohol in a vehicle?
  • Is it legal to drive after drinking (i.e., drunk driving laws and BAC limits)?

Your question is about where drinking in a vehicle is legal , not about driving over the limit.

Examples: where passengers can drink

In many countries and most regions, it is illegal for anyone to have an open alcoholic drink in a vehicle on public roads. However, there are some well‑known exceptions:

  • In the United States , most states ban passengers from drinking in moving vehicles on public roads through “open container” laws, but there are exceptions where passengers can drink:
    • A 2024 legal overview notes that passengers may legally drink alcohol in cars (on public roads) in Connecticut, Delaware, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia , provided the driver is not drinking and remains under the legal limit and other conditions of state law are met.
* In **Alaska** , a passenger may drink if they are seated in an area **behind a solid partition** that separates them from the driver; the open container must be confined to that separated passenger area.

These rules only apply if the vehicle is being operated where public‑road laws apply; many places treat vehicles on private property differently (for example, parked in a private driveway), where passengers may be allowed to drink because open‑container rules don’t apply in the same way.

The one famous driver exception (Mississippi)

There is one very unusual, often‑cited case in the U.S.:

  • Mississippi is widely cited as the only U.S. state where:
    • a driver may have an open container,
    • passengers may drink,
    • and even the driver can drink alcohol while driving,
    • as long as the driver stays under the legal limit of 0.08 BAC and is not otherwise impaired.

Even there, local city or county ordinances can be stricter, and driving impaired is still a crime, so it’s not a “free pass” to drink and drive.

Special vehicle types (limos, party buses, etc.)

Some vehicles are commonly associated with legal drinking by passengers , but the legality depends entirely on local law:

  • Limousines, party buses, and some charter vehicles :
    • In many jurisdictions, passengers are allowed to drink in these vehicles because they are hired, the driver is a professional, and the passenger compartment is separated.
    • However, this is not universal; some places still apply open‑container rules to passengers in these vehicles on public roads, and the driver is never allowed to drink.
  • RVs / motorhomes :
    • In some places, passengers may be allowed to drink in the living area (not the driver’s seat or front row) if the vehicle is set up as a residence on private property or in a campsite.
    • Once the RV is being driven on public roads, many regions either ban any open alcohol in the vehicle or restrict it to areas physically separated from the driver, similar to Alaska’s rule.

These “special vehicles” are the closest real‑world match to “a vehicle in which it’s legal to drink alcohol,” but the rules are technical and vary a lot by state/country.

International angle (very high level)

Most countries focus on blood alcohol limits for drivers , not on explicitly allowing drinking in vehicles:

  • Many European countries allow small BAC levels (for example 0.5 ‰) for drivers, but that does not mean it is legal to drink inside the vehicle while driving; it only defines the allowed blood alcohol level if you’ve drunk beforehand.
  • Some countries have zero‑tolerance for any alcohol while driving (0.0 ‰ BAC), meaning the driver cannot legally drink at all before driving, let alone in the vehicle itself.

Passenger open‑container laws outside North America are very country‑specific, but the general modern trend is toward stricter rules , not looser ones.

Simple way to think about it

If you’re trying to picture “a vehicle in which it’s legal to drink alcohol,” the closest real‑world examples are:

  • A limousine or party bus where local law allows passengers (not the driver) to drink.
  • Certain U.S. states (like Mississippi) where even the driver can have an open container and drink, but only if they remain under the legal BAC limit and are not impaired.
  • Some situations on private property (e.g., a car parked in a private driveway) where open‑container laws do not apply in the same way and passengers may drink.

But because the rules are a patchwork and change over time, the only safe approach is to check the current law in your exact state/country and remember that “not clearly forbidden” doesn’t equal “definitely legal." Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.