Open Containers & Wine

The Florida House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill that would allow people in Florida have a previously opened bottle of wine in their cars -- but only if that wine was purchased at a restaurant.

I was quite surprised to hear this news. I couldn'€™t believe it had been illegal in the first place, when states like Wyoming actually allow open containers in hands of passengers so long as the driver herself isn't drinking. What really is strange, though, is the bit about proof: in the Florida bill, the driver of the car is actually responsible for producing a dated receipt reflecting the purchase of the wine and food. The requirement is remarkably short-sighted: are restaurants really the only place they can imagine someone drinking wine?

Open container laws have always seemed a little fishy to me: while it feels like common sense to disallow having an opened container in a vehicle, I had never heard any evidence that the law actually kept people from driving drunk. According to the president of the National Motor Association (an organization about which I know very little), there simply isn't any. Naturally, the vast majority of conversations about open container laws in this country are somehow interpreted to be endorsements of drunk driving.

Finally, what may be the worst thing about this is that wine is called out specifically by the bill: taking an opened bottle of gin home from a friend's house is not allowed. (Wine is singled out in this way in at least thirty states.) It reeks of elitism and I can't think of any other explanation for it. Thankfully, I'€™m not the only one who thinks it'€™s wrong to call out wine specifically.