ASK A COP — Can half-full alcohol drinks be taken in vehicles?

Published 12:08 am Thursday, September 14, 2023

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Lee asks: During the Labor Day holiday or anytime I’m hauling alcohol in my vehicle, I arrive at my friend’s house for a adult beverage get together. If after I’m done with the get together, trust me, I have a designated driver. If there’s some extra beverage left in the bottles, can I bring the alcohol home or since it’s been opened, would it be illegal to put the opened alcohol in my car?

Answer: I’m glad you’re not chancing driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. We wish many others would plan as responsibly as you are by having a DESIGNATED DRIVER. You and many others partake in adult alcoholic drinks during the holidays and, to be real, just about every day. You can have the open container in the trunk, locked glove box or behind the last row of seats if there’s no trunk compartment. So you don’t have to pour out your alcohol or leave it behind at your friend’s house because it contained alcohol.

Officer Rickey Antoine

Derrick asks: Do police officers still cite drivers for driving with their high beam on? What’s done with drivers who have misaligned headlights that blind oncoming cars? It seems NOT. Are vehicle inspectors still checking headlight alignment during state inspection? Who’s inspecting what they do?

Answer: Headlight aiming was done away with a long time ago. Effective March 15, 1990, the headlight aim-testing requirement was removed from the state inspection. So that answers part of your question. Law enforcement officers can stop a driver of a motor vehicle with high beams on. Whatever legal action (citation/warning) they choose to take is up to the individual officer. State of Texas Transportation Code states a motor vehicle cannot drive towards oncoming vehicles within 500 feet (1 and 1/2 city blocks) or within 300 feet (city block) with high beams (bright lights) activated.

Carter asks: I’m having a disagreement with a few coworkers who said it’s illegal to drive a motor vehicle at night with the inside dome light on. We have lunch pending on who’s right. Please help us.

Answer: This is a question that resurfaces quite often. Someone or somewhere in times past, a rumor started among the community of motorists that it was illegal to drive on the road at night with the dome light on. This is not true as far as the state of Texas is concerned. There’s no law broken if you turn on the inside dome light while operating a motor vehicle on the roads of Texas. With that said, it is highly recommended you keep your eyes on the road while driving and not searching for objects in your vehicle.

Join Me, Officer Rickey Antoine and the CREW, Stephen “Buzzard Boots” Mosley, Lelo “mouth of Hwy 69/73” I Washington and Tejas “Lil Man” Morning Star for Ask A Cop live, on KSAP 96.9 FM The Breeze radio station every Tuesday for at least two hours from 1 to 3 p.m. You can also tune in at ksapthebreeze.org. Call in and ask your question live at 409-982-0247. Feel free to email questions to rickey.antoine@portarthurtx.gov, call 409-983-8673 and leave a voicemail question or mail them to: Ofc. Rickey Antoine, 645 4th Street, Port Arthur, Texas, 77640. If you happen to see me in public, you can always feel comfortable to approach and “Ask A Cop!”