Stilly -

As mentioned, this thread is more than a year old, and most of the possible variations have been searched. We've had some of our best people on it.

"Open Bottle" is the term that would have been applied in the era when the song might have been around. That's the term universally used in the states that did have such laws, and would have been the "appropriate" term, since it "puts the rub" on the other states - and contrasts the "Texas Way."

The law "clickified" above shows a publication date in yr 2001, so at least future generations who search for this one will have a "not later than" date to work with.

Even in states/jurisdictions where there is no "open bottle" or "open container" law, a visible container, reasonably construed as likely to contain an intoxicant, in reach of the driver or of any passenger who might pass it to the driver while the vehicle is in operation would be likely be considered "probable cause" for any law enforcement agent to administer "tests for impaired driver function." Once you're out of the vehicle for the "test," the oportunities for the officer to find "probable cause" for additional "investigative actions" increase exponentially. Bad situation.

The new Texas statute is quite liberal, in that it defines "behind the rearmost seat" as "not in the vehicle."

When Kansas passed their first "Open Bottle Law" I made pocket change building a few dozen "mini-trunks" you could bolt to a station wagon floor, up against the tailgate door - just big enough to hold a "fifth" and constructed so you couldn't get the bottle out without opening the tailgate. A necessary accessory for some people, at the time.

(And there was the one "special" with the concealed "back door," that only looked like it had rivets. - But that guys been dead and gone for decades now.)

To the point - this title has been fairly thoroughly researched, by our experts. Search engine data sheets do change, so you do need to "Play it one more time" occasionally. So start your (search) engine if you feel lucky.

John