You may drink alcoholic beverages in a vehicle on a public highway:
- As long as you aren't driving.
- If you are riding in the back seat.
- If you are riding in the back of a pick-up truck.
- Under no circumstances. ✓
Answer: D. Under no circumstances.
The correct choice is under no circumstances: you may not drink alcoholic beverages in a vehicle on a public highway.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook says it is illegal to have an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle passenger area on a public highway, whether the vehicle is being operated, stopped, or parked. Because the rule applies even when the car is not moving, choices that focus on not driving or on where you sit do not create an exception. That is why the bank answer rules out drinking in the vehicle on a public highway.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. As long as you aren't driving. — Not driving does not make it allowed, because the handbook says an open alcohol container in the passenger area is illegal even if the vehicle is stopped or parked.
- B. If you are riding in the back seat. — Sitting in the back seat does not create an exception, since the handbook's ban covers the motor vehicle passenger area, not just the driver's seat.
- C. If you are riding in the back of a pick-up truck. — Riding in the back of a pickup is not listed as an exception in the handbook, and the open-container rule still applies to the vehicle's passenger area on a public highway.
Remember it
If the container is open in the passenger area on a public road, the car does not have to be moving for it to be a violation.