A. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, it shall be unlawful for any operator to knowingly transport or for any passenger to possess in any moving vehicle upon a public highway, street or alley any intoxicating beverage or low-point beer, as defined by Sections 163.1 and 163.2 of Title 37 of the Oklahoma Statutes, except in the original container which shall not have been opened and from which the original cap or seal shall not have been removed, unless the opened container be in the rear trunk or rear compartment, which shall include the spare tire compartment in a station wagon or panel truck, or any outside compartment which is not accessible to the driver or any other person in the vehicle while it is in motion. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in subsection A of Section 566 of Title 37 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
B. Any person convicted of violating any provision of subsection A of this section shall, in addition to any fine imposed, pay a special assessment trauma-care fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) to be deposited into the Trauma Care Assistance Revolving Fund created in Section 1-2522 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
C. The provisions of subsection A of this section shall not apply to the passenger area of buses and limousines; however, it shall be unlawful for the driver of the bus or limousine to consume or have in the driver’s immediate possession any intoxicating beverage or low-point beer.
D. No city, town, or county may adopt any order, ordinance, rule or regulation concerning the consumption or serving of intoxicating beverages or low-point beer in buses or limousines.
E. As used in this section:
1. “Bus” means a vehicle as defined in Section 1-105 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes chartered for transportation of persons for hire. It shall not mean a school bus, as defined by Section 1-160 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, transporting children or a vehicle operated pursuant to a franchise with a city or town operating over a regularly scheduled route; and
2. “Limousine” means a chauffeur-driven motor vehicle, other than a bus or taxicab, as defined by Section 1-174 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, designed and used for transportation of persons for compensation.
Added by Laws 1970, c. 290, § 1. Amended by Laws 1990, c. 209, § 1, emerg. eff. May 14, 1990; Laws 1995, c. 274, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 2003, c. 30, § 1, emerg. eff. April 7, 2003; Laws 2004, c. 386, § 1, emerg. eff. June 3, 2004; Laws 2005, c. 291, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2005; Laws 2006, c. 16, § 1, emerg. eff. March 29, 2006.
NOTE: Laws 2005, c. 190, § 1 repealed by Laws 2006, c. 16, § 2, emerg. eff. March 29, 2006.