Learn more about open container laws and contact the legal team at Russell Law Firm, LLC today by calling (225) 307-0088! In most cases, daiquiris adhere to the “band rule”. Most daiquiri stores place a piece of tape on the straw handle on the lid. If this tape is removed or broken, the drink is considered an open container. Despite the honorable allusion to the Hoity-Toity cocktail, the state government has shown remarkable ingenuity in maintaining the Daiquiri store`s business model, in the spirit of non sibi, sed suis, the Latin motto that means “not for itself, but for itself” and previously appeared on the Louisiana flag. The words referred to the pelican`s sacrifice for its own blood to feed its chicks. In one of the best (or worst, depending on the position) examples of public servants working with private interests, our alcoholic beverage lawmakers and lobbyists have done an effective job of ensuring our right to put our arms through car windows and carry in cups and even gallons of daiquiris. That is, as long as the containers remain “sealed”. Under Louisiana law, this means that an “open liquor container” does not mean a bottle, can, or other container containing a frozen alcoholic beverage unless the lid is removed, a straw protrudes from it, or the contents of the container have been partially removed. Some of the few exceptions are “passengers and Krewe members driving on a parade car,” as well as passengers driving in hotel vehicles, taxis, and large recreational vehicles. Violations used to have to pay $50; The fine is now $100. As if looking at sausage making, the legislative story behind the daiquiri driving is not as pleasant in the stomach as the drink that state laws want to protect.

It is generally accepted that the first Drive Thru Daiquiri booth opened in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1981. The state had no anti-drink laws at the time, and although the new company was pushed back a bit by the community, it wasn`t enough to shut it down or curb its popularity. Soon, competitors began to germinate throughout the region. Ironically, the emergence of the drive-thru daiquiri shop coincided with a growing national outcry against driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. As recently as 1982, only 26 states had laws banning drinking and driving. The fatal drunkenness accident in which a 13-year-old California girl was killed and her mother inspired to launch Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) had occurred less than two years earlier. With increased attention to accidents caused by people driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), the concept of a Lafayette bar known as the Daiquiri factory has attracted the national media. Drivers could “stop, grab a drink out the window and scream without leaving the car,” according to a 1982 Associated Press article. Shortly after the article was published, an editorial in a Kansas newspaper predicted that even Louisiana would not allow such a practice. So how does a daiquiri work while driving? Well, the fine print of the law says that the open containers law does not apply to frozen alcoholic beverage containers where the lid is intact and no straw protrudes through the lid. To some right-wing observers, this seems to be a fine line of the law, and it is, in fact, the case.

However, drive-thru daiquiris are widely used in Louisiana, which ensures that this fine line remains undisputed. People who violate container laws in Louisiana face a number of penalties. The first offence is an offence punishable by a fine of up to $100. Drivers and passengers are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages open on public roads, whether they drink or not and whether they are impaired or not. There are stories, perhaps great stories, of officials writing quotes about drivers having half-empty wine bottles in the back seat of a party the night before — and that would be a legitimate quote among just about every container opened in vehicle laws. This is a question we often hear from tourists visiting New Orleans. For many people, this aspect of Louisiana Open Container Law is confusing. Louisiana has many daiquiri stores at the wheel. A daiquiri contained in a cup is legally allowed in a moving vehicle as long as the cup is sealed. On my first trip to New Orleans three years ago, I was skeptical — of course, my friend said it was nice to take a hurricane to drink while we walked down the street, but it just didn`t seem right. It was illegal, as if one of the drunken Frat Boys stumbling on Bourbon Street could turn out to be an undercover cop who would go there.

But it`s true — Louisiana`s open container laws are such that if you don`t finish your cocktail at the bar, you can take it with you on foot. While many like to think that the daiquiri at the wheel symbolizes laissez-faire attitudes and the government, this illusion would not have been possible without the vigorous work of lobbyists and legislators. The obvious question is to what extent the daiquiri anomaly makes Louisiana dangerous in terms of drunk driving arrests and car accidents. In 2000, 48 percent of the 454 road deaths in Louisiana were associated with alcohol, according to MADD; Only five other states had worse histories, but these had fewer overall accidents. In 2004, the state legislature passed the law that makes it illegal for passengers to have open alcohol containers.