Open container leniency hits road construction funding

Because Delaware doesn’t ban open alcoholic containers in vehicles, $17 million in federal highway funds has been used on measures to counter drunk-driving instead of on big infrastructure projects during the past five years.

The Federal Highway Administration pays for as much as 80 percent of certain road projects across the United States, such as the recent overhaul of the I-95, 202 interchange ramps.

But, 2.5 percent of that money is diverted from projects in states, such as Delaware, that do not have laws banning open alcoholic beverages in cars and trucks.

“It’s just one of those wrinkles that are out there that affects our funding,” said Hugh Curran, director of finance at the Delaware Department of Transportation.

A total of $17.2 million of the more than $800 million that has flowed to Delaware’s road projects from the federal Highway Trust Fund since October 2010 has paid for DUI checkpoints and highway safety upgrades, such as new railing along roadways.

The money must be used for “alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures or enforcement of driving while intoxicated,” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Delaware has resisted trends in alcohol regulation in the past. In 2004, the First State became the last state to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit to .08 percent from .10 percent.

State Rep. Timothy Dukes, R-Laurel, introduced a bill to ban open, alcoholic containers during the legislative session, in 2014, but it stalled in committee. Dukes said that he’ll likely introduce it again in January, as it’s a way to both capture money for roads and to increase the safety of motorists.

“It’s an issue of public safety and an issue of common sense,” he said. “It failed in committee by one vote. I was shocked.”

An open container law would be an unnecessary “intrusion” into individuals’ private lives, said Matt Stiller, an attorney who defends drunk drivers for Schwartz & Schwartz, in Wilmington.

“It is already illegal to drive while intoxicated. Adding a law prohibiting people from having open containers does not add anything,” Stiller said.

Neither the state of Delaware, nor New Castle County, bans open alcoholic beverages in vehicles. The City of Newark does.

Open containers aren’t allowed in New Castle County parks, said Tom Jackson, spokesman for New Castle County Police Department – a ban that can extend to vehicles there.

“We do have ordinances that prohibit alcohol in our park lands which sometimes comes into play,” said Jackson.

Wilmington bans open containers in parks, streets, and on highways, but not explicitly in vehicles. Stiller said that law could lead to various interpretations among the police.

“I don't think the statute was written to prohibit open containers in vehicles but, based on the verbiage, I can see how some law enforcement officers might use it in that way,” he said.

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.