Walk It Through: The Road Trip
A child under eight in a rear seat, an opened container kept in the trunk, and a mailed suspension notice.
A friend's child, under eight years of age, comes along on the trip without a parent.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One trip with a friend and a child. Adult seat belt rules, cannabis in the car, and the suspensions with their own penalty sections are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Open containerAn opened bottle, can or other container of an alcoholic beverage, which neither the driver nor a passenger may have in a motor vehicle on a highway.
- Child passenger restraintThe rear seat restraint a child under eight years of age rides in, rear facing under two unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall.
- Driving while suspendedDriving while the privilege is suspended or revoked, when the driver knows of it.
- Reckless drivingDriving on a highway or in an offstreet parking facility in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, punished by five to 90 days in county jail, a fine of $145 to $1,000, or both.