GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 590
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/13/91

Short Title:  No Opened Alcohol in Cars.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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April 3, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT OPEN CONTAINERS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN MOTOR VEHICLES EXCEPT FOR MOTOR HOMES AND CERTAIN FOR-HIRE VEHICLES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 18B-401(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Opened Containers. – Except as provided in subsection (a1) of this section, it shall be unlawful for a person to transport or possess alcoholic beverages in the passenger area of a motor vehicle in other than the manufacturer's unopened original container while the vehicle is in operation on a highway or public vehicular area. It shall also be unlawful for any person to consume alcoholic beverages in the passenger area of a motor vehicle while the vehicle is in operation on a highway or public vehicular area. Violation of this subsection shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to five hundred dollars ($500.00), imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both."
Sec. 2. G.S. 18B-401 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( a1)	A person  shall not be in violation of this section if the driver is not consuming alcohol or does not have remaining in his body a controlled substance previously consumed.  An alcohol screening test as provided in G.S. 20-16.3 may be administered to the driver when a law enforcement officer reasonably suspects a violation of this section.  The  results of any such test, or the driver's refusal to submit, shall be admissable in evidence in any court or administrative proceeding to prove the driver's alcohol concentration.
(a2)	An offense under this section is an alcohol-related offense subject to the implied-consent provisions of G.S. 20-16.2."
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 1991.