Driver's License Test Prep
Oregon Practice DUI & Impaired Driving

Under Oregon's open container law, where in your vehicle may an open container of alcohol be carried?

  1. A.
    In the trunk, where any open container should be kept. Correct
  2. B.
    In the glove compartment, as long as it's closed.
  3. C.
    On the back seat, out of the driver's reach.
  4. D.
    In the cup holder, if reclosed.
The Why

The answer is "In the trunk, where any open container should be kept."

Open containers of alcohol must be kept in the trunk. It is illegal to have an open bottle or other container with alcohol in it while you are in a vehicle on any road, and a container counts as open once its seal has been broken even if it has been reclosed. Drivers who miss this often pick the reclosed cup holder, half-remembering that resealing a bottle restores its seal the way some states treat a recorked wine bottle.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. In the glove compartment, as long as it's closed.

The glove compartment is part of the passenger area, not the trunk, so an open container stored there still breaks the law. Treats a closed compartment inside the passenger cabin as equivalent to the trunk, a rule a few other states allow but Oregon does not.

C. On the back seat, out of the driver's reach.

The back seat is part of the passenger area, and distance from the driver does not change the rule. Reads the law as a driver-reach test rather than a trunk requirement, the way some open-carry rules for other items work but not this one.

D. In the cup holder, if reclosed.

A container counts as open if its seal has been broken, even after it has been reclosed, so a reclosed bottle in a cup holder is still illegal. Assumes resealing a broken seal restores it, a rule some states apply to recorked wine bottles but Oregon does not.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of DUI & Impaired Driving in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Impaired Driving," p.83..

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