Why Can You Drink Alcohol In A Limo, But Not In A Car?

[The Straight Story]

Why Can You Drink Alcohol In A Limo, But Not In A Car?

i was just thinking about it. I know that having an open liquor container is illegal & you can get a ticker & arrested... than why is it ok for you to drink in the back of a limousine? do they have immunity? im just curious... & i mean why can't passengers drink inside of a normal car... even if the driver isn't drinking..

http://www.sodahead.com/fun/why-can-you-drink-alcohol-in-a-limo-but-not-in-a-car/question-943208/

Cause the rich make the laws and they want to be able to drink in the back seat :)

[JVS]

1. Big gulp can hold a lot of rum and coke.

[Rex]

2. Good observation.

We all know why.

[CTyankee]

3. Maybe because the very term "limousine" implies that the driver is not drinking, only

the passengers. When you "hire" a limousine, you hire a driver.

Not that I hire limousines. I have shared an airport limousine but we weren't drinking in the back seat.

[Drale]

4. Well it probably has something to do with

the fact that when your in a Limo, its the drivers job to drive you around and not be drunk, but when your just in a car, you probably are friends or family or at acquainted with the driver and there is more of a temptation for the driver to drink as well.

[Confusious]

5. Is the alcohol within reach?

I would bet the driver has to close the divider if passengers have alcohol.

[KansDem]

6. Isn't there some kind of barricade between the driver and the riders?

Like a glass window?

I don't know, maybe that is enough to separate the two distinctions. Maybe there's the belief that the alcohol can't be passed between driver and riders...:shrug:

Something like this?

[NuclearDem]

8. Yep, the barrier is the issue when it comes to alcohol in limos

I used to own a Lincoln Town Car limo, and as long as you hold a chauffeur license (or a public passenger chauffeur license) AND you don't provide the alcohol (meaning they bring their own drinks), passengers can drink in the back of the limo while the partition's up.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. I've drank alcohol in a cab before.

It was a private cab and the driver/owner said it was fine. We non rich folks have to get our buzz on safely too you know. :P

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. because most states regulate common carriers,

which includes limo drivers. It is illegal for them to drink on duty, and they lose their CDLs if they do.

Since they are so heavily regulated, any passengers are free to do as they please, which includes sex, drugs and rock and roll. At least if you are republican.

[EC]

10. You can't if you are driving or in the driving compartment

Limos have separations from the driver, so booze is okay in back.

[nomb]

11. Don't Texas and Louisiana allow open liquor in a car? They do have drive-thru Daiquiri stands....

http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbs=isch:1&&sa=X&ei=-GBtTbCNJob6cKjd5asF&ved=0CDQQvwUoAQ&q=drive-thru+Daiquiri&spell=1&biw=1024&bih=705

[NuclearDem]

12. Here's how it works:

1) You have to have the partition up.
2) You can't be the one providing the alcohol. If your friends or whoever you're driving wants to bring their booze along, it's fine, but if you provide it and it's included in the overall cost of the limo service, it constitutes a sale, and limo companies aren't generally licensed to sell alcohol.
3) It's not required, but you can save yourself a huge legal headache if you have a public passenger chauffeur license. The written test really isn't that tough, and a road test isn't necessary as long as you have a valid Operator's License.

[LanternWaste]

13. Well, the chartered buses we take down to the coast...

"Cause the rich make the laws and they want to be able to drink in the back seat..."

Well, the chartered buses we take down to the coast aren't what I would think of as the playground of the rich, but maybe to some they are... :shrug:

As far as I know (specifically to TX at least), state laws provides Open Container Law exceptions for vehicles driven by commercial drivers (the party bus/limousine exception) and for a passengers of campers, motor homes, house trailer,etc.

[speltwon]

14. The same reason you can drink in the back of an RV

Also note that drinking in a vehicle isn't illegal in every jurisdiction. I used to live in MA when those laws were based on city codes. Where I lived, it was legal to drink in any car, as long as you weren't the driver. Note it's also legal to drink in tour buses, etc, generally speaking. Laws of course vary state to state.