Open Containers in a Vehicle
Section 66-8-138 — no drinking, and no open container on the body, in a vehicle on a public highway
- No one knowingly drinks an alcoholic beverage while in a motor vehicle on a public highway.
- No one knowingly has on their body, in a vehicle on a public highway, a bottle, can or other container of an alcoholic beverage that has been opened, had its seal broken or had some of its contents removed.
Who handles this in New Mexico: Enlace Comunitario; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the New Mexico directory.
The registered owner may not knowingly keep or allow an open container in the vehicle on a public highway unless it is in the trunk, or in an area not normally occupied by the driver or passengers if there is no trunk, the living quarters of a motor home or recreational vehicle, a truck camper, or the bed of a pickup when no passengers ride there. A glove or utility compartment counts as within the area the driver and passengers occupy.
Passengers in a bus, taxicab or limousine for hire are not covered.
A second or later violation is a misdemeanor, and the license is revoked for three months on a second violation and one year on a third or later.
Sources for this section (2)
- NMSA 1978, § 66-8-138 — Consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages in open containers in a motor vehicle prohibited; exceptions
- NMSA 1978, § 66-8-139 — Penalties
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of November 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Mexico attorney.