Answers.Body: <p>In California, it only applies to alcoholic beverages.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc23223.htm" rel="nofollow">California Vehicle Code 23223</a>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Possession of Open Container in Motor Vehicle</p>
    
    <p>(a) No driver shall have in his or her possession, while in a motor
    vehicle upon a highway or on lands, as described in subdivision (b) of
    Section 23220, any bottle, can, or other receptacle, containing any
    alcoholic beverage that has been opened, or a seal broken, or the
    contents of which have been partially removed.</p>
    
    <p>(b) No passenger shall have in his or her possession, while in a motor
    vehicle upon a highway or on lands, as described in subdivision (b) of
    Section 23220, any bottle, can, or other receptacle containing any
    alcoholic beverage that has been opened or a seal broken, or the
    contents of which have been partially removed.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-01-28T18:46:52.627Z
Answers.Text: This doesn't full answer the question.  Presuming that California law conforms to federal rules, the laws "Apply to all open alcoholic beverage containers and all alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, and spirits that contain one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume" (see the linked Wikipedia article above), which would cover much "NA" beer.  But as I commented above, "open container" covers more ground than just vehicles.
Answers.UserDisplayName: object88
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-01-28T18:49:50.410Z
Answers.Text: @object88 Once you get off of the California roads, you get into *individual municipalities* and even specific areas within those municipalities. I know that in my area of California, certain areas of certain cities allow any open container, other areas don't allow glass containers (whether beer or soda), etc. Limit the scope of the question to make it answerable.
Answers.UserDisplayName: freiheit
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-01-28T18:42:21.053Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-01-28T18:42:21.053Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: freiheit
Body: <p>Do <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_open_container_laws">open container laws in the U.S.</a> apply to non-alcoholic beers? (Open container laws do <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3aUSA-open-container-law-path2006-2.svg">vary from state to state</a> but there may be a general consensus on definitions, <em>e.g.</em> the definition of "an alcoholic beverage." Focusing on the most populous states, California, Texas, New York, and Florida may be a good estimator of widely-applicable laws.)</p>
  
  <p>I'm not looking for speculation (however logical) <em>e.g.</em> <i>"Non-alcoholic beers still have alcohol and are therefore subject to the same laws,"</i> or <em>"Non-alcoholic beers can't be purchased by minors, therefore [...],"</em> only citations of state laws or on-the-record statements by law enforcement officials.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-01-28T23:55:01.090Z
Comments.Text: Regional. If we allow this, then presumably we could allow the similar question for every other country in the World.
Comments.UserDisplayName: mdma
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-01-29T20:00:45.927Z
Comments.Text: @mdma - I agree. (VTC'ed my own question for the same reason.)
Comments.UserDisplayName: Andrew Cheong
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-01-28T18:13:46.010Z
Comments.Text: I think this is too broad of a question.  "Open container" itself may refer to different things, as the wikipedia article you cite seems to differentiate between "in public" and "in a vehicle".  And frankly, I think it's a little dangerous to make a country-wise consensus based on a couple of states.  I see value in the question, however, so I think this should be broken into multiple questions.
Comments.UserDisplayName: object88
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-01-28T18:40:24.680Z
Comments.Text: Every state in the US has different laws. You should ask about a single state, not all states or a random collection of states.
Comments.UserDisplayName: freiheit
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-01-28T19:08:22.500Z
Comments.Text: @object - Yet, I don't think there's a need for separate questions about "Open container" in public versus in a vehicle—I think one question can cover a few variants without being "too broad." I do agree that one can't generalize from states to the nation—but that is why I phrased my question, "a good estimator." I wondered if perhaps all states adhered to some federally definition of "an alcoholic beverage," in which case open container laws would indeed have similar interpretations.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Andrew Cheong
Tags: <laws><non-alcoholic>
Title: Do open container laws in the U.S. apply to non-alcoholic beers?
UserDisplayName: Andrew Cheong
ThreadText: # Do open container laws in the U.S. apply to non-alcoholic beers?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-28)
  
  Do [open container laws in the U.S.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_open_container_laws) apply to non-alcoholic beers? (Open container laws do [vary from state to state](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3aUSA-open-container-law-path2006-2.svg) but there may be a general consensus on definitions, *e.g.* the definition of "an alcoholic beverage." Focusing on the most populous states, California, Texas, New York, and Florida may be a good estimator of widely-applicable laws.)
  
  I'm not looking for speculation (however logical) *e.g.* *"Non-alcoholic beers still have alcohol and are therefore subject to the same laws,"* or *"Non-alcoholic beers can't be purchased by minors, therefore [...],"* only citations of state laws or on-the-record statements by law enforcement officials.
  
  **Tags:** laws, non-alcoholic
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: I think this is too broad of a question.  "Open container" itself may refer to different things, as the wikipedia article you cite seems to differentiate between "in public" and "in a vehicle".  And frankly, I think it's a little dangerous to make a country-wise consensus based on a couple of states.  I see value in the question, however, so I think this should be broken into multiple questions.  
  > **username_3**: Every state in the US has different laws. You should ask about a single state, not all states or a random collection of states.  
  > **username_0**: @object - Yet, I don't think there's a need for separate questions about "Open container" in public versus in a vehicle—I think one question can cover a few variants without being "too broad." I do agree that one can't generalize from states to the nation—but that is why I phrased my question, "a good estimator." I wondered if perhaps all states adhered to some federally definition of "an alcoholic beverage," in which case open container laws would indeed have similar interpretations.  
  > **username_1**: Regional. If we allow this, then presumably we could allow the similar question for every other country in the World.  
  > **username_0**: @username_1 - I agree. (VTC'ed my own question for the same reason.)  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2014-01-28. Score: 1
  
  In California, it only applies to alcoholic beverages.
  
  [California Vehicle Code 23223](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc23223.htm):
  
  > Possession of Open Container in Motor Vehicle
  >
  > (a) No driver shall have in his or her possession, while in a motor
  > vehicle upon a highway or on lands, as described in subdivision (b) of
  > Section 23220, any bottle, can, or other receptacle, containing any
  > alcoholic beverage that has been opened, or a seal broken, or the
  > contents of which have been partially removed.
  >
  > (b) No passenger shall have in his or her possession, while in a motor
  > vehicle upon a highway or on lands, as described in subdivision (b) of
  > Section 23220, any bottle, can, or other receptacle containing any
  > alcoholic beverage that has been opened or a seal broken, or the
  > contents of which have been partially removed.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: This doesn't full answer the question.  Presuming that California law conforms to federal rules, the laws "Apply to all open alcoholic beverage containers and all alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, and spirits that contain one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume" (see the linked Wikipedia article above), which would cover much "NA" beer.  But as I commented above, "open container" covers more ground than just vehicles.  
  > **username_3**: @username_2 Once you get off of the California roads, you get into *individual municipalities* and even specific areas within those municipalities. I know that in my area of California, certain areas of certain cities allow any open container, other areas don't allow glass containers (whether beer or soda), etc. Limit the scope of the question to make it answerable.  
  
  ---
  
  