A taxi cab is a popular choice for urbanites to get home safely after a night of drinking. Even with the prevalence of rideshare options like Uber and Lyft, cabs litter the streets of megacities like New York and London. Still, you can land yourself in trouble for being a bit too drunk in a cab. 

Sorry to rain on your boozy travel plans, but you can get arrested for being too drunk in a taxi

You’ve been looking forward to going out with some friends all month. It’s been a while since you’ve seen them and it’s been a long week. You get a little too uninhibited with your beverages and hail a taxi cab to get home. Well, good on you for doing that instead of attempting a dangerous drive home.

However, just because you ordered a cab, doesn’t mean you have a license to destroy a driver’s car on the ride home. If you’re too inebriated in a taxi, police officers could arrest you for public intoxication or disorderly conduct.

For instance, if you get into a taxi and behave in a threatening manner, harass the driver or other passengers, or vomit in the vehicle, a driver may eject you from the cab or call the authorities. Frankly, if you’re out in public, it’s best to refrain from being so intoxicated that you become a nuisance. 

Furthermore, and understandably so, it’s illegal to drink alcohol from an open container in a taxi cab. Open container laws, namely the ones prohibiting passengers from drinking in a car, apply to cabs. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

For instance, in the state of Kentucky, KRS 189.530 says “Nothing in this section shall prohibit the possession of an open alcoholic beverage container by an individual who is strictly a passenger and not the driver.” However, the exception only applies to compensation-based vehicles, like “buses, taxis, and limousines,” per the Lexington Herald Leader. However, open container laws prohibit alcohol from being within reach of the driver. Think divider in a limo.