South Bend, IN Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Under Sec. 14-16, a person who knowingly consumes an alcoholic beverage, or possesses a container that has been opened, has a broken seal, or has had some contents removed, while in a motor vehicle operated on a public highway within South Bend commits an ordinance violation. Sec. 14-17 extends liability to the vehicle's operator or owner: they violate the article if they knowingly keep or allow such a container in any area of the vehicle accessible to the driver or a passenger while the vehicle is in operation.

A narrower rule applies to recreational vehicles and licensed chartered passenger vehicles under Sec. 14-17(b): the operator violates the article only if the open, broken-seal, or partly-emptied container sits in an area accessible to the operator specifically, not merely to passengers, recognizing that a licensed charter or RV passenger compartment may lawfully carry open containers out of the driver's reach. 1-1-3-13, and "motor vehicle" follows IC 9-13-2-105, but the article's own definition in Sec. 14-15 excludes recreational vehicles designed to carry more than ten passengers and chartered passenger vehicles licensed in Indiana from the base motor-vehicle open-container rule, routing them instead to the operator-only standard in Sec. 14-17(b). The City Engineer or designee is required by Sec. 14-19 to post signs at locations deemed appropriate giving notice of the open-container prohibition.