Open container — New York Permit Test
Open container on the New York permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
It is a traffic infraction for a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle on a public highway, street or road to drink a beverage containing alcohol or to possess an open container of an alcoholic beverage.
The rule covers the passenger as well as the driver. An open bottle is enough.
It is also a traffic infraction for a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle on a public highway, street or road to consume marijuana/cannabis.
It is also a traffic infraction for a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle on a public highway, street or road to consume marijuana.
The same rule covers cannabis. Being a passenger is no defense.
It is also a traffic infraction for a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle on a public highway, street or road to consume marijuana/cannabis.
The penalty for a first open container conviction is a fine up to $150, a mandatory surcharge, a crime victim assistance fee, and possible imprisonment of 15 days.
An open bottle can put somebody in a cell. It is not treated as a small thing.
The penalty for a first conviction is a fine up to $150, a mandatory surcharge, a crime victim assistance fee, and possible imprisonment of 15 days.
When a driver uses a driver license or Non-Driver ID card as proof of age to illegally purchase beverages that contain alcohol, state law requires the suspension of their driver license or privilege to apply for one.
Using the license to buy drinks costs the license. The two are tied together.
When you use a driver license or Non-Driver ID card as proof of age to illegally purchase beverages that contain alcohol, state law requires the suspension of your driver license or privilege to apply for a license.
On the test
Who does the open container law apply to?
The driver and the passengers. The rule covers the passenger as well as the driver. An open bottle is enough. New York State Driver's Manual, p.57: “It is also a traffic infraction for a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle on a public highway, street or road to consume marijuana/cannabis.”
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 New York State Driver's Manual, published by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-15.