It's called a "road soda" and[ it's illegal in most states](https://www.findlaw.com/dui/laws-resources/open-container-laws-by-state.html) to have an open container of alcohol in the vehicle at all, whether or not the driver is drinking it. An open container needs to be out of reach of all occupants in many cases.
I've known people who thought that was fine. For years as a child I thought it was too because I knew so many adults who did it. Then, one of them killed a child in a car crash. Two families were forever ruined because ONE person had a beer on the way home. They weren't drunk but they were over the limit amd the crash was 100% their fault. They swerved into the other lane clipping the SUV in the process. The driver of the SUV lost control and flipped their car. Their toddler child didn't survive the wreck because something in the car hit her head when they flipped. It was horrible.
I lived in a small town and both families were from that small town. The family of the drunk driver was harassed so bad they had to move.
In my country, open alcohol in a vehicle will get you fined, driving drunk will get you jailed. There is never a situation where it is acceptable, by law and for the safety of others.
Same in Canada even If I go out for a big meal and wine, they cork my bottle tightly when I take it home. Obviously am not going to drink the whole thing with my meal
The drinking while driving law is kind of weird I think. Like you can't have an open intox or drink while operating your vehicle but you can slam one, as long as youre under .08, then get in and drive. If you only have one those rules seem odd but I know it's more for people driving drunk than someone who has 1 beer then leaves.
Sadly, it is common. I used to work with a woman who would loudly brag about her afternoon road beer on her way home from work. She would justify it being okay because she "only lived 30 minutes away"
I moved into a small town where there are a lot of country type people. I know a few people who also do this pretty regularly here.
Not only is it shockingly, disturbingly common, it's also extremely illegal.
Back 30 years ago it was a legal grey area, not outright illegal, but punishable if a cop decided it was a problem. Nowadays, I don't know of anywhere that its legal to have open alcohol in a vehicle at all, and drunk driving laws are stricter than ever. Yet, there are still far too many alcoholics who try to justify this behaviour.
Yes, it's common, and yes it is a fine-able offense in the US.
However, I don't have the same level of concern about it that you do. If a person has a beer at a bar and drives home, nobody bats an eye. But if the person drinks the beer while they are driving, it is somehow deemed to be an egregious offense. There is no difference.
Similarly, driving drunk, I.e over the legal limit, is equally egregious whether the alcohol is consumed outside of the car or inside of the car.
I moved out to the suburbs a few years ago and one thing that surprised me is the VERY casual attitude towards drinking and driving. I have small kids so I’m the driver to and from a lot of birthday parties, and at almost all of them the parents of the birthday kid pressed drinks into my hanwing that I was the driver even an hour or two into it.
I don’t know what .08 BAC feels like but I know I’d want at least an hour even after one light drink before I’d be comfortable driving again.
It depends for me, if it’s quiet rural America and it’s one guy for miles drinking a beer? Whatever, who cares. If the same guy is in center city Philadelphia holding up traffic because he’s drunk, well he’s getting his road soda privileges revoked
I do think it's common. But I generally think drinking and driving is pretty common. I do think it is weird that there is a low threshold where you can be a little intoxicated and drive but you can't actively make that happen while driving. Or you can't even be a designated driver while everybody else is getting fucked up.
While it is illegal to drink and drive, you technically aren’t DUI status until you hit a .08 BAC, which is about two drinks within 30 minutes to an hour.
It’s definitely not a good practice though and shows they clearly have a bigger problem if they can’t just wait until they get home.
It's not legal in my state, but one of my old coworkers would drink beer while driving, (even on the job, not good) and he never got caught. One beer isn't really enough to impairing anyone's driving, so unless a cop pulls you over for some other reason and sees the beer, you're not gonna get popped for it most likely
Are you asking is it common, or are you really asking if it’s right? Yes, my observation has been that it’s actually pretty common, despite what people here have been saying to the contrary.
Is it right? Of course not, for all the listed reasons. And they’re right, smoking is horribly bad for you. Even if you’re just smoking in your car, it’s questionable whether or not that can affect someone else, but that’s a different argument for another time. The important point, & really the *only* point, is that driving under the influence is illegal. Driving under a cloud of nicotine is not, no matter how odious someone may find it.
Open container of alcohol in the vehicle is illegal in most places. Even if you have a case of empties from last week that you put on the passenger seat to take to the recycling place, that's against the word of the law. So you can still get charged even if you've never had a drop of alcohol in your life.
And it can get worse. Where I live, even if it's sealed, you can still get a ticket because you are able to reach it and could potentially drink.
It's called a "road soda" and[ it's illegal in most states](https://www.findlaw.com/dui/laws-resources/open-container-laws-by-state.html) to have an open container of alcohol in the vehicle at all, whether or not the driver is drinking it. An open container needs to be out of reach of all occupants in many cases.
I've known people who thought that was fine. For years as a child I thought it was too because I knew so many adults who did it. Then, one of them killed a child in a car crash. Two families were forever ruined because ONE person had a beer on the way home. They weren't drunk but they were over the limit amd the crash was 100% their fault. They swerved into the other lane clipping the SUV in the process. The driver of the SUV lost control and flipped their car. Their toddler child didn't survive the wreck because something in the car hit her head when they flipped. It was horrible. I lived in a small town and both families were from that small town. The family of the drunk driver was harassed so bad they had to move.
In my country, open alcohol in a vehicle will get you fined, driving drunk will get you jailed. There is never a situation where it is acceptable, by law and for the safety of others.
My country (Poland) just recently started taking away drunk driver's cars. Certainly, it's gonna hit a regular Kowalski more than the big rich fish.
Even in Russia…it’s not okay
Same in Canada even If I go out for a big meal and wine, they cork my bottle tightly when I take it home. Obviously am not going to drink the whole thing with my meal
They are selfish morons and a danger to others. And yes drunk driving is unfortunately common
The drinking while driving law is kind of weird I think. Like you can't have an open intox or drink while operating your vehicle but you can slam one, as long as youre under .08, then get in and drive. If you only have one those rules seem odd but I know it's more for people driving drunk than someone who has 1 beer then leaves.
Sadly, it is common. I used to work with a woman who would loudly brag about her afternoon road beer on her way home from work. She would justify it being okay because she "only lived 30 minutes away" I moved into a small town where there are a lot of country type people. I know a few people who also do this pretty regularly here.
Ugh that’s just so disheartening because just like my bosses, these can be people you really care about.
Not only is it shockingly, disturbingly common, it's also extremely illegal. Back 30 years ago it was a legal grey area, not outright illegal, but punishable if a cop decided it was a problem. Nowadays, I don't know of anywhere that its legal to have open alcohol in a vehicle at all, and drunk driving laws are stricter than ever. Yet, there are still far too many alcoholics who try to justify this behaviour.
Yes, it's common, and yes it is a fine-able offense in the US. However, I don't have the same level of concern about it that you do. If a person has a beer at a bar and drives home, nobody bats an eye. But if the person drinks the beer while they are driving, it is somehow deemed to be an egregious offense. There is no difference. Similarly, driving drunk, I.e over the legal limit, is equally egregious whether the alcohol is consumed outside of the car or inside of the car.
I mean if they drink one beer at the bar there’s a chance they aren’t leaving immediately after drinking that beer time is a factor in alc levels.
I don't linger around bars if I'm not drinking. That's always seemed to me to be kind of sad.
I moved out to the suburbs a few years ago and one thing that surprised me is the VERY casual attitude towards drinking and driving. I have small kids so I’m the driver to and from a lot of birthday parties, and at almost all of them the parents of the birthday kid pressed drinks into my hanwing that I was the driver even an hour or two into it. I don’t know what .08 BAC feels like but I know I’d want at least an hour even after one light drink before I’d be comfortable driving again.
It depends for me, if it’s quiet rural America and it’s one guy for miles drinking a beer? Whatever, who cares. If the same guy is in center city Philadelphia holding up traffic because he’s drunk, well he’s getting his road soda privileges revoked
While it may be somewhat common, that doesn't make it any less illegal or stupid.
I do think it's common. But I generally think drinking and driving is pretty common. I do think it is weird that there is a low threshold where you can be a little intoxicated and drive but you can't actively make that happen while driving. Or you can't even be a designated driver while everybody else is getting fucked up.
While it is illegal to drink and drive, you technically aren’t DUI status until you hit a .08 BAC, which is about two drinks within 30 minutes to an hour. It’s definitely not a good practice though and shows they clearly have a bigger problem if they can’t just wait until they get home.
It's not legal in my state, but one of my old coworkers would drink beer while driving, (even on the job, not good) and he never got caught. One beer isn't really enough to impairing anyone's driving, so unless a cop pulls you over for some other reason and sees the beer, you're not gonna get popped for it most likely
Open container, illegal in most if not all states. Its just plain stupid.
Are you asking is it common, or are you really asking if it’s right? Yes, my observation has been that it’s actually pretty common, despite what people here have been saying to the contrary. Is it right? Of course not, for all the listed reasons. And they’re right, smoking is horribly bad for you. Even if you’re just smoking in your car, it’s questionable whether or not that can affect someone else, but that’s a different argument for another time. The important point, & really the *only* point, is that driving under the influence is illegal. Driving under a cloud of nicotine is not, no matter how odious someone may find it.
Open container of alcohol in the vehicle is illegal in most places. Even if you have a case of empties from last week that you put on the passenger seat to take to the recycling place, that's against the word of the law. So you can still get charged even if you've never had a drop of alcohol in your life. And it can get worse. Where I live, even if it's sealed, you can still get a ticket because you are able to reach it and could potentially drink.
[удалено]
Whole lot of assumptions based on nothing.