![Montanans, Remember Legally Driving With a Cold One?](http://townsquare.media/site/109/files/2023/04/attachment-Flakes-Image-36.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Montanans, Remember Legally Driving With a Cold One?
I was recently talking to a gal that I had met who wasn't born and raised in Montana. And I was explaining how things are different than they are in Seattle where she grew up.
You should have seen the look on her face when I told her about how it used to be OK for passengers in vehicles to have open alcoholic beverages. She said, "Shut up!" And I assured her that back in the 1970's having an open beer while tooling around endless gravel roads was a big deal to people that were my folks' age.
I recall many a sunny Sunday playing pool at some bar on a back road while the grown-ups had another cocktail. And nobody thought twice about doing it.
At this point, I should give you my disclaimer that I don't support drinking and driving. I'm just saying that all those years ago, it was an all-afternoon event for many.
This next part I had to look up because as I recall they changed the law in Montana to say that no open containers of alcohol are allowed in vehicles. But as of October 1st, 2005 Montana State law 61-8-1026 made it illegal to have anything that might impair your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle in that vehicle.
I was also told that if you get pulled over and your vehicle gets searched and they find an old beer can with even a tiny bit of beer left, you're in trouble. Consult with your own law enforcement connections for the answer to that one.
How Many in America: From Guns to Ghost Towns
More From Cat Country 102.9
![Viral Video And Things To Know About MT “Sovereign Citizens”](http://townsquare.media/site/109/files/2024/04/attachment-Citizen.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Can You Sleep in your Car Legally in Montana? Yes and No](http://townsquare.media/site/628/files/2022/10/attachment-Sleeping-In-Car-Feature.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Is it Legal to Take Fall Photos on a Railroad Track in Montana?](http://townsquare.media/site/628/files/2022/10/attachment-Railroad-Photos-Feature.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Is Flashing Other People Legal in Montana? (High Beams, We Mean)](http://townsquare.media/site/628/files/2022/08/attachment-RS41891_GettyImages-1025941012.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![These Montana Laws are Weird and Hilarious, But Are They Real?](http://townsquare.media/site/628/files/2022/08/attachment-Funny-Laws-Feature.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Leaving Your Kids Alone at Home in Montana: Legal or Illegal?](http://townsquare.media/site/628/files/2022/08/attachment-Latchkey-Child-Feature.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Is it Legal to Break a Car Window in Montana if a Pet is Inside?](http://townsquare.media/site/124/files/2020/06/RS41081_GettyImages-1160535824.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The 8-Hour Rule for Trucks](http://townsquare.media/site/109/files/2019/07/RS26827_GettyImages-870341722-scr.jpg?w=980&q=75)