Drinking Laws For Passengers While Riding in a Limousine

It is unlawful or illegal for any passengers riding in a limousine to consume alcoholic beverages in the Ontario, Canada area. The same goes for Calgary, Canada. This bylaw was passed in February 2007 although many people did not know of its existence until recently because the bylaw has of late come up for review.

This bylaw is also in the city of Calgary, Canada and they are not too happy about it. Some companies have even filed formal complaints with the city stating that these laws do not encourage responsible choices against drinking and driving. And that is one of the main reasons people choose to take a limousine so they don’t have to drink and drive. The reasons for celebration have all but been taken away. Not that everyone drinks when they ride in the limousine, but a lot of people do rent limousines for a celebration of some sort including weddings and going out with their friends to a special event or a ballgame or hockey game.

Going to and from an event, as a passenger in a limousine, you may have alcoholic beverages with you in unopened containers; however no one is allowed to be drinking them in the back of the limousine in Calgary or Ontario, Canada. The laws are different in various areas of Canada and when you cross down the border into the United States, they are different in various states as well.

The law basically defeats the purpose for going out for a celebration in limousine and that’s what has many of the limousine companies and passengers up in arms about. If you can’t drink while someone else is driving then you might as well go in your own car and have someone else drive although, this is also illegal to be drinking in the car while someone else is driving. This brings up the law in the states where there is a partition between the driver and the people drinking alcoholic beverage. In some states this is considered legal and Canadians think this should be legal as well.

Unless the driver has a special license, his or her passengers cannot drink in the back of the limousine. This means if the driver of the limousine has a special license, his or her passengers may consume alcohol during their ride in the back of the limousine.

This special license is called an Ontario Liquor Delivery Service License and it comes from The Registrar of The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). This special license allows the driver to have his or her passengers consume alcoholic beverages in the back of the limousine.

The AGCO collects data on a limousine company and then has a rigorous testing policy in place before it allows a limousine company to obtain an Ontario Liquor Delivery Service License in which the limousine company can therefore deliver liquor or have liquor in the limousine.

The drinking laws for passengers in Canada very from Providence to Providence so you need to be diligent and check with your driver or the limousine company before you pop the cork on any celebrations.