321.284 Open containers in motor vehicles — drivers.
1. A driver of a motor vehicle upon a public street or highway shall not possess in the
passenger area of the motor vehicle an open or unsealed bottle, can, jar, or other receptacle
containing an alcoholic beverage. “Passenger area” means the area designed to seat the driver
and passengers while the motor vehicle is in operation and any area that is readily accessible
to the driver or a passenger while in their seating positions, including the glove compartment.
An open or unsealed receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage may be transported in the
trunk of the motor vehicle. An unsealed receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage may be
transported behind the last upright seat of the motor vehicle if the motor vehicle does not have
a trunk. A person convicted of a violation of this section is guilty of a simple misdemeanor
punishable as a scheduled violation under section 805.8A, subsection 14, paragraph “e”.
2. A person under the age of twenty-one who violates this section is guilty of a violation
of section 123.47.
95 Acts, ch 48, §5; 98 Acts, ch 1100, §47; 98 Acts, ch 1204, §3; 99 Acts, ch 77, §1; 2001 Acts,
ch 137, §5; 2010 Acts, ch 1128, §5
Referred to in §123.30, 123.131, 123.132, 805.8A(14)(e)
321.284A Open containers in motor vehicles — passengers.
1. A passenger in a motor vehicle upon a public street or highway shall not possess
in the passenger area of the motor vehicle an open or unsealed bottle, can, jar, or other
receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage. “Passenger area” means the area of a motor
vehicle designed to seat the driver and passengers while the motor vehicle is in operation
and any area that is readily accessible to the driver or a passenger while in their seating
positions, including the glove compartment. An open or unsealed receptacle containing
an alcoholic beverage may be transported in the trunk of the motor vehicle. An unsealed
receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage may be transported behind the last upright seat
of the motor vehicle if the motor vehicle does not have a trunk.
2. This section does not apply to a passenger being transported in a motor vehicle
designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation,
or a passenger being transported in the living quarters of a motor home, motorsports
recreational vehicle, manufactured or mobile home, travel trailer, or fifth-wheel travel trailer.
3. A person convicted of a violation of this section is guilty of a simple misdemeanor
punishable as a scheduled violation under section 805.8A, subsection 14, paragraph “e”.
4. A person under the age of twenty-one years who violates this section is guilty of a
violation of section 123.47.
5. The department shall not include a conviction for a violation of this section on the
individual driving record of the person committing the violation and the conviction shall
not be considered by the department in any proceeding for suspension, revocation, barring,
or denying of the person’s driver’s license or upon any application for renewal of driving
privileges.
99 Acts, ch 77, §2; 2001 Acts, ch 137, §5; 2001 Acts, ch 153, §15; 2001 Acts, ch 176, §80;
2010 Acts, ch 1128, §6; 2014 Acts, ch 1127, §9