{"data":{"id":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-3-8-9","jurisdiction":"us-ri","citation":"R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-8-9","heading":"Transportation of alcoholic beverages by underage persons.","body":"(a) Any person who has not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday and who operates a motor vehicle upon the public highways, except when accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or another adult who is over the age of twenty-one (21) years and related, whether by blood, adoption or marriage, to the operator within the following degree of sanguinity: brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, uncle, aunt, great uncle or great aunt and, knowingly having liquor or intoxicating beverages in any form in containers, opened or unopened, in any part of the vehicle shall be guilty of a criminal violation. The words liquor and intoxicating beverages, as used in this section, have the same meaning as defined in chapter 1 of this title. This section does not apply to persons between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-one (21) who are transporting unopened alcoholic beverages in the course of their employment.\n(b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to the following:\n(1) For a first offense, a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and have his or her license to operate a motor vehicle suspended for not more than thirty (30) days;\n(2) For a second offense, a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) and have his or her license to operate a motor vehicle suspended for not more than ninety (90) days;\n(3) For a third or subsequent offense, a fine of no less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than nine hundred and fifty dollars ($950) and have his or her license to operate a motor vehicle suspended for one year.","path":["Title 3 Alcoholic Beverages","Chapter 8 Regulation of Sales"],"source_url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE3/3-8/3-8-9.htm","current_through":"site files published 2025-08-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T14:18:02Z","sha256":"bf17db9b680f1068cad4ea2788ec4e38be683b1ce45f1358c546135201aa1f1c","source_id":"us-ri","stale":true,"prev":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-3-8-7-3-8-8.1","next":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-3-8-10"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}