{"data":{"id":"us-ar/ark.-code-ann.-5-71-218","jurisdiction":"us-ar","citation":"Ark. Code Ann. § 5-71-218","heading":"Possession of open container containing alcohol in a motor vehicle","body":"(a) It is unlawful for a person to possess an open alcoholic beverage container within an area of a motor vehicle if the area of the motor vehicle is: (1) Designated to seat the driver or a passenger in the motor vehicle; or (2) Readily accessible to the driver or a passenger in the motor vehicle while in a seated position and the motor vehicle is located on a public highway or the right-of-way of a public highway. (b) It is not an offense under this section if the open alcoholic beverage container is possessed: (1) Outside of the passenger area of the motor vehicle or other area of the motor vehicle commonly used for the transportation of passengers, such as in the trunk or cargo area of the motor vehicle; (2) In a locked area of the motor vehicle, including without limitation a glove compartment or center console of the motor vehicle; (3) Behind the last upright seat or in an area not normally occupied by the driver or a passenger, in a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk; or (4) By a passenger in the motor vehicle, but not the driver, as long as the open alcoholic beverage container is possessed within the living quarters of the motor vehicle or the area of the motor vehicle that is designated for passengers only, the open alcoholic beverage container is not readily accessible to the driver of the motor vehicle, and the motor vehicle is: (A) Designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation; or (B) A recreational vehicle, motor home, or house trailer. (c) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor. Amended by Act 2018EX2, No. 7,§ 2, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2018EX2, No. 4,§ 2, eff. 7/24/2019. Added by Act 2017, No. 849,§ 1, eff. 8/1/2017.\n\n(a) It is unlawful for a person to possess an open alcoholic beverage container within an area of a motor vehicle if the area of the motor vehicle is: (1) Designated to seat the driver or a passenger in the motor vehicle; or (2) Readily accessible to the driver or a passenger in the motor vehicle while in a seated position and the motor vehicle is located on a public highway or the right-of-way of a public highway.\n\n(1) Designated to seat the driver or a passenger in the motor vehicle; or\n\n(2) Readily accessible to the driver or a passenger in the motor vehicle while in a seated position and the motor vehicle is located on a public highway or the right-of-way of a public highway.\n\n(b) It is not an offense under this section if the open alcoholic beverage container is possessed: (1) Outside of the passenger area of the motor vehicle or other area of the motor vehicle commonly used for the transportation of passengers, such as in the trunk or cargo area of the motor vehicle; (2) In a locked area of the motor vehicle, including without limitation a glove compartment or center console of the motor vehicle; (3) Behind the last upright seat or in an area not normally occupied by the driver or a passenger, in a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk; or (4) By a passenger in the motor vehicle, but not the driver, as long as the open alcoholic beverage container is possessed within the living quarters of the motor vehicle or the area of the motor vehicle that is designated for passengers only, the open alcoholic beverage container is not readily accessible to the driver of the motor vehicle, and the motor vehicle is: (A) Designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation; or (B) A recreational vehicle, motor home, or house trailer.\n\n(1) Outside of the passenger area of the motor vehicle or other area of the motor vehicle commonly used for the transportation of passengers, such as in the trunk or cargo area of the motor vehicle;\n\n(2) In a locked area of the motor vehicle, including without limitation a glove compartment or center console of the motor vehicle;\nation; or (B) A recreational vehicle, motor home, or house trailer.\n\n(1) Outside of the passenger area of the motor vehicle or other area of the motor vehicle commonly used for the transportation of passengers, such as in the trunk or cargo area of the motor vehicle;\n\n(2) In a locked area of the motor vehicle, including without limitation a glove compartment or center console of the motor vehicle;\n\n(3) Behind the last upright seat or in an area not normally occupied by the driver or a passenger, in a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk; or\n\n(4) By a passenger in the motor vehicle, but not the driver, as long as the open alcoholic beverage container is possessed within the living quarters of the motor vehicle or the area of the motor vehicle that is designated for passengers only, the open alcoholic beverage container is not readily accessible to the driver of the motor vehicle, and the motor vehicle is: (A) Designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation; or (B) A recreational vehicle, motor home, or house trailer.\n\n(A) Designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation; or\n\n(B) A recreational vehicle, motor home, or house trailer.\n\n(c) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.","path":["AR Code","Title 5","Chapter 71","Subchapter 2"],"source_url":"https://oss-data-us.vaquill.ai/v2026.08/us_ar_statutes.parquet","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-17","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T21:35:43Z","sha256":"84f8a0fe1c817c5e5f3c59631eb82c674a028dbac4ea198103e4ad4a9a91d7c9","source_id":"us-ar","stale":false,"prev":"us-ar/ark.-code-ann.-5-71-217","next":"us-ar/ark.-code-ann.-5-71-219","notices":[{"id":"open-us-law","title":"Open US Law compilation","text":"Compilation CC BY 4.0, Open US Law (Vaquill AI). GroundRules uses only the releases published under CC BY 4.0: from v2026.09 the compilation is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, and GroundRules does not use those releases. Each affected row names its release in its vintage label. GroundRules parsed and filtered the compilation to retain enacted text.","url":"https://huggingface.co/datasets/vaquill/open-us-law","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"pro-ar","title":"Arkansas Release 78 supplement","text":"Arkansas electronic product files were republished by Public.Resource.Org under a public-domain mark. GroundRules uses enacted text from Release 78 only as a labeled supplement to the newer Open US Law rows.","url":"https://archive.org/details/gov.ar.code"}]},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}