{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-189.530","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 189.530","heading":"Providing motor vehicle to person intoxicated or under influence of","body":"substance which may impair driving ability -- Possession of open alcoholic\nbeverage container in a motor vehicle prohibited -- Exceptions -- Definitions --\nElection of offenses to prosecute.\n(1) No person shall provide a motor vehicle to another to operate upon a highway,\nknowing that the other person is in an intoxicated condition, or under the influence\nof any substance which may impair one's driving ability.\n(2) A person is guilty of possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor\nvehicle, when he or she has in his or her possession an open alcoholic beverage\ncontainer in the passenger area of a motor vehicle located on a public highway or on\nthe right-of-way of a public highway. However, nothing in this section shall prohibit\nthe possession of an open alcoholic beverage container by an individual who is\nstrictly a passenger and not the driver, in the passenger area of a motor vehicle\nmaintained or used primarily for the  transportation of persons for compensation,\nsuch as buses, taxis, and limousines, or in a recreational vehicle, motor home, or\nmotor coach.\n(3) For purposes of this section, \"alcoholic beverage\" means:\n(a) Beer, ale, porter, stout, and other similar ferme nted beverages including sake\nor similar products of any name or description containing one -half of one\npercent (0.5%) or more of alcohol by volume, brewed or produced from malt,\nwholly or in part, or from any substitute therefor;\n(b) Wine of not less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of alcohol by volume; or\n(c) Distilled spirits which is that substance known as ethyl alcohol, ethanol, or\nspirits of wine in any form including all dilutions and mixtures thereof from\nwhatever source or by whatever process produced.\n(4) For the purposes of this section, \"open alcoholic beverage container\" means any\nbottle, can, or other receptacle that contains any amount of alcoholic beverage, and:\n(a) Is open or has a broken seal; or\n(b) The contents of which are partially removed.\n(5) For the purposes of this section, \"passenger area\" means the area designed to seat\nthe driver and the passengers while the motor vehicle is in operation and any area\nthat is readily accessible to the driver or a passenger while in their seating positions,\nincluding the glove compartment. Passenger area does not include possession of an\nopen alcoholic beverage container in a locked glove compartment, or behind the last\nupright seat or in an area not normally occupied by the driver or a passenge r in a\nmotor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk.\n(6) For the purpose of this section, \"public highway\" or \"right -of-way of a public\nhighway\" means the entire width between and immediately adjacent to the boundary\nlines of every way publicly maintain ed when any part thereof is open to the use of\nthe public for purposes of vehicular travel.\n(7) No person shall, as a result of a single course of conduct, be tried for or convicted of\na violation of this section and a violation of KRS 222.202 or 525.100. The attorney\nfor the Commonwealth shall elect under which statute to proceed. A conviction,\ndecision not to prosecute, or dismissal of charges under any of these statutes shall\noperate as a bar to prosecution under any other of these statutes for offenses arising\nout of the same course of conduct.","path":["KRS Chapter 189"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=6410","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:43Z","sha256":"1f91bbfdb514d450fa289839ddefe4330051dc77df8e5a970b914e9dda2f2083","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-189.520","next":"us-ky/krs-189.540"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}