...open in Indiana law

By Journal and Courier staff reports

A bill that would have closed a loophole in Indiana's open container law and helped the state gain additional federal money for road construction died during this year's legislative session.

Senate Bill 84, sponsored by Sen. Thomas J. Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, gained 43-7 approval in the GOP-dominated Senate but was not granted a hearing in the Democratic-controlled House.

Current law allows passengers in a car to have open beverages of alcoholic beverages, provided the vehicle driver is not drinking and has a blood alcohol content of less than 0.04 percent.

Under the proposed bill, a driver could be charged with a class B infraction if he or she permitted an open alcoholic beverage container to be present in the vehicle's passenger area. The driver could be fined up to $1,000.

Rep. Jonathan Weinzapfel, D-Evansville, said he did not schedule the bill for a hearing in the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee because he never got a clear answer from the administration or lobbyists about why the law change was needed.

The House also didn't act on a similar measure last year, sending it to a study committee instead.

Given Indiana's state budget woes, Dan Towery, an activist with the Lafayette chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said he was surprised the legislation died.

"I thought the open container would be a slam dunk, that with the state's budget problems, the legislators would welcome the extra dollars," Towery said.

"The temptation for the driver to drink (when others in the vehicle have open containers) is too great. ... It's part of the comprehensive approach."

Indiana is one of about a dozen states not complying with the federal open container standard. Because of that, millions that could have been used for road construction and maintenance has to be shifted into enforcement of drunken driving laws or specific hazard elimination activities.

Since 2001, the Indiana Department of Transportation has transferred $27 million from its federal highway funding accounts to the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving for alcohol-related prevention activities, according to a fiscal analysis that accompanied SB 84.