Open container law — Maine Permit Test

Open container law on the Maine permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

On a public way, the driver breaks the law if the driver or a passenger in the passenger area drinks alcohol or has an open alcohol container.

An open can passed around the car is a short step from the driver taking a sip.

The operator of a vehicle on a public way is in violation of law if the operator or a passenger in the passenger area of the vehicle consumes alcohol or possesses an open alcoholic container.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.35

In a vehicle with no trunk, an open alcohol container is allowed behind the last upright seat or in an area not normally occupied by the driver or passengers.

Out of reach is the point: a bottle no one can grab is a bottle no one drinks on the road.

The operator or a passenger possesses an open alcoholic beverage container in a vehicle not equipped with a trunk if the open alcoholic beverage container is located behind the last upright seat of the vehicle or in an area not normally occupied by the operator or passenger.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.35

A passenger may have an open container or drink alcohol in the living quarters of a motor home, trailer, semi-trailer or truck camper.

Living quarters are like a home on wheels, apart from where the driver sits.

A passenger possesses an open alcoholic beverage container, or a passenger consumes alcohol in the living quarters of a motor home, trailer, semi-trailer or truck camper.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.35

On the test

Under Maine's open container law, whose open container in the passenger area breaks the law?

The driver's or a passenger's. An open can passed around the car is a short step from the driver taking a sip. Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.35: “The operator of a vehicle on a public way is in violation of law if the operator or a passenger in the passenger area of the vehicle consumes alcohol or possesses an open alcoholic container.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Maine Driver’s License Manual, published by the Maine Secretary of State, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-05.