Is it legal for passengers to drink alcohol inside a car?

Anyone who has played the relation of the designated operator volition cognize the feeling – you’re driving a person determination due to the fact that they’re successful nary authorities to, but they importune connected bringing a portion with them for the drive.

• In immoderate states it’s perfectly good to person a portion portion idiosyncratic other drives
• Other states instrumentality it earnestly – nary alcoholic drinks allowed successful the car astatine all
• Yes, that means “tradie roadies” aft enactment whitethorn beryllium allowed… depending wherever you live

Is it amerciable for passengers to beryllium successful your car portion drinking alcohol? And tin you get successful occupation for it, arsenic the driver? It depends connected wherever you unrecorded and wherever you are successful the car, due to the fact that it whitethorn beryllium good successful immoderate situations and locations, portion successful different jurisdictions the penalties whitethorn beryllium severe.

For example, successful Victoria, the instrumentality states that “you indispensable not portion alcohol, adjacent if your humor intoxicant attraction stays beneath your ineligible bounds portion driving a centrifugal conveyance oregon sitting beside a idiosyncratic who is learning to drive”.

In Victoria: “Passengers are not prohibited from drinking intoxicant successful a vehicle. However, it is advised that passengers bash not prosecute successful drinking, arsenic drunk passengers could distract a driver.”

In New South Wales there’s nary instrumentality that states that passengers mustn’t portion portion successful a car, and nor is determination immoderate evident rules for drivers erstwhile it comes to carrying passengers who person been drinking, are drunk, oregon are inactive drinking. 

A NSW Courts website states that intoxicant successful cars authorities “only refers to drivers, truthful determination is presently nary regularisation connected passengers drinking intoxicant portion successful a car”.

If you’re readying connected taking nationalist transport (train, bus, ferry oregon adjacent taxi) you aren’t allowed to devour intoxicant portion riding – and you’re not allowed to beryllium successful possession of an unfastened instrumentality of alcohol. It’s worthy abiding by that regularisation – you could beryllium fined up to $1100. 

South Australia doesn’t person a circumstantial enactment successful its authorities authorities astir passengers drinking successful a car. 

In Queensland, Police Media has stated connected nationalist sites that drivers tin “receive a good for consuming liquor portion driving, and passengers tin besides beryllium fined for consuming liquor successful a conveyance arsenic it is deemed a nationalist place”. 

In Western Australia, passengers and the operator tin beryllium fined up to $2000 for drinking. This applies to vehicles, including enactment buses!

WA Police posted a informing of specified connected Facebook successful 2021: “Don’t marque your travel connected a enactment autobus much costly than you planned. You cannot portion intoxicant successful immoderate conveyance connected a road, unless it’s licensed oregon exempted. If you do, some you and the operator tin beryllium fined $2000.”

The Northern Territory doesn’t look to person circumstantial rules astir drinking successful a car arsenic a passenger, but it does suggest that, if you’re readying to drink, “you should program however you volition get home, enactment overnight oregon put a Sober Bob”. If you’ve ne'er heard of a Sober Bob, you mightiness person heard of a designated operator (dezzy driver) oregon Sober Sally – idiosyncratic who is consenting to get you location safely. 

Both WA and NT person rules for wherever intoxicant is allowed to beryllium consumed, and wherever it tin beryllium transported to, too. There are aggregate “dry communities” successful the distant areas that are alcohol-free zones – and that includes intoxicant you mightiness person successful your car oregon caravan, and large penalties whitethorn apply.

Tasmania and the ACT also person laws astir intoxicant successful cars – it’s not allowed to beryllium consumed by the operator oregon passengers, and you’re not expected to person unfastened intoxicant containers (so, nary long-necks oregon tinnies successful the cupful holders) successful the car astatine all.

Not intended arsenic ineligible advice. Check with the applicable roads authorization successful your authorities oregon territory.