"I'm driving home from the lake. It's hot. I pop a beer. As long as I'm not drunk, what's wrong with that?" said Andrew Vandaele, 68, a retired refrigerator repairman.

Many other Montanans, including top legislators, have the same outlook on drinking and driving. As a result, it has been difficult to get DUI laws passed in the state.

Last month's bill to ban open alcohol containers was the latest measure to fail. "There are still people here who measure distances in six-packs," said Bill Muhs, head of the state's Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter. "Bozeman to Billings is a six-pack drive. Bozeman to Montana City is a two six-pack trip. Crossing the state would be a whole case."

Montana, Wyoming, and Mississippi are the only states without a law banning drinking while driving. They are also the states with the most per-capita traffic fatalities involving alcohol.

State Rep. Jim Shockley (R-Victor), who as chairman of the Montana House of Representatives Judiciary Committee ensured that the open-container bill didn't make it out of his committee, expects the measure to be reintroduced in the next legislative session in 2005.

Editor's update: On May 12, Stateline.org published a feature-length article, "Drinking And Driving Legal In Some States."