The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 23 : Motor Vehicles

Chapter 013 : Operation of Vehicles

Subchapter 011 : MISCELLANEOUS RULES

• § 1134a. Motor vehicle passenger; consumption or possession of alcohol or cannabis

  (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a passenger in a motor vehicle shall not consume an alcoholic beverage or cannabis in the passenger area of any motor vehicle on a public highway.

  (b) A passenger in a motor vehicle shall not possess any open container that contains an alcoholic beverage or cannabis in the passenger area of the motor vehicle.

  (c) As used in this section:

  (1) “Alcoholic beverage” shall have the same meaning as “alcohol” as defined in section 1200 of this title.

  (2) “Passenger area” shall mean the area designed to seat the operator and passengers while the motor vehicle is in operation and any area that is readily accessible to the operator or passengers while in their seating positions, including the glove compartment, unless the glove compartment is locked. In a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk, the term shall exclude the area behind the last upright seat or any area not normally occupied by the operator or passengers.

  (d) A person, other than the operator, may possess an open container that contains an alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation or in the living quarters of a motor home or trailer coach.

  (e) A person who consumes an alcoholic beverage or possesses an open container that contains an alcoholic beverage in violation of this section shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $25.00. A person who consumes cannabis or possesses an open container that contains cannabis in violation of this section shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $200.00. (Added 2001, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 24, eff. June 21, 2002; amended 2017, No. 83, § 152; 2017, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 14.)