Committee Approves Open Container Bill: Measure Would Make It Illegal For Passengers In Motor Vehicles To Have Open Alcoholic Drinks

By Gary Libow, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Mar. 15–By October, it might be illegal for passengers to have open containers of alcoholic drinks in a motor vehicle in Connecticut.

State Sen. Donald DeFronzo, D-New Britain, co-chairman of the General Assembly’s transportation committee, said the controversial concept of banning all open bottles and cans containing alcohol may finally pass legislative muster after years of rejection.

On Wednesday, the transportation committee voted 32-2 to forward an open container bill, co-sponsored by state Sen. William Nickerson, R-Greenwich, to the judiciary committee.

While it’s currently illegal in Connecticut for a driver to have alcohol behind the wheel, it’s legal for passengers to possess open containers of alcoholic beverages.

Cromwell Police Chief Anthony Salvatore contends it’s critical to plug a dangerous loophole giving drivers easy access to beer, wine or hard liquor.

Salvatore, an officer of the Connecticut Police Chief’s Association, testified at a recent transportation committee public hearing, as did members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“I think the chances are much improved this year,” DeFronzo said, noting that a legislative report recommends toughening laws against drunken driving.

In Connecticut, traffic crashes claimed the lives of 325 people in 2006, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. Of those deaths, 70 percent were caused by reckless driving, often fueled by alcohol consumption, according to state and federal statistics cited by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, an advocacy organization.

In his bill, Nickerson, a transportation committee member, proposes fining passengers found with open alcoholic containers a maximum of $500. The proposal does not apply to those riding in a livery vehicle, or those sitting in the passenger quarters of a recreational vehicle.

The governor’s office proposed a similar bill, but it was not advanced by the transportation committee, DeFronzo said.

Efforts to pass a ban on open alcohol containers in passenger vehicles has failed repeatedly in the past because of concerns that people with open containers of alcohol not being consumed or that are empty could be punished.

Salvatore said he’s confident police officials convinced legislators that an officer’s discretion would prevent this from happening.

“We are not going to arrest people that are returning empties that may have residue on the bottom,” Salvatore stressed.

“It’s pretty clear now,” DeFronzo said of the bill’s intent.

Contact Gary Libow at glibow@courant.com.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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