Open Container
G.S. 20-138.7 — an open container in the passenger area, and alcohol in the driver's body
For the driver, it takes both. In North Carolina, driving on a highway or its right of way is a crime when there is an alcoholic beverage in the passenger area in anything other than the unopened original container and the driver is drinking or has alcohol remaining in their body. It is a Class 3 misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 2 misdemeanor after that.
Separately, anyone who possesses an opened alcoholic beverage, or drinks one, in the passenger area of a motor vehicle on a highway or its right of way commits an infraction, and only the person possessing or drinking is charged.
- A passenger in a vehicle used mainly to carry people for pay.
- A passenger in the living quarters of a motor home or house car.
- A passenger in a house trailer.
Those passengers are outside the infraction. The odor of alcohol on the driver's breath is not enough by itself to prove alcohol remained in the body, unless the driver refused a screening test or chemical analysis.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.S. 20-138.7 — Transporting an open container of alcoholic beverage
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed North Carolina attorney.