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Q:  I am always careful to obey the law, and I don’t mess with drinking and driving.  Last Saturday night, my friend was assigned to be the designated driver.  A Salt Lake City cop pulled us over and gave everyone in the car  tickets even though WE weren’t driving!  He told us that drinking isn’t allowed in vehicles.  We were drinking in the car, but we were being safe because none of us were driving.  Can I get out of this ticket?

It was very good to find a friend to be your designated driver.  Although you were not personally driving, Utah law prohibits passengers from drinking alcohol in the vehicle.

A person may not drink any alcoholic beverage while operating a motor vehicle or while a passenger in a motor vehicle, whether the vehicle is moving, stopped, or parked on any highway.  U.C.A. § 41-6a-526(2).

The law wouldn’t even let you drink as a passenger in a car that is stopped on a street.  The probable rationale is that drinking passengers are a distraction to the driver.  The law also prevents you from drinking alcohol even if the car is parked on the street.

The only way passengers in Utah can drink alcohol in a vehicle is if the vehicle is a limousine.  Even then, the limo must begin at someone’s house or hotel and the limo driver must be separated from the passengers by a partition.  See U.C.A. § 32A-12-213(3)(b)(i-ii).

Because ignorance isn’t a defense to any law, your defense would most likely involve other matters (such as whether the cop had probable cause to pull the driver over in the first place).  You should contact a qualified attorney who can help defend you against this charge.