NASHVILLE (AP) — A perennial bill seeking to ban passengers from drinking alcohol while traveling on Tennessee roads has met its usual fate in the state House.

The measure sponsored by Rep. Jon Lundberg of Bristol failed in the State Government Subcommittee on Wednesday.

Current law bans drivers from having open alcohol containers in cars, but Lundberg argues that that they can just "pass the bottle" if they get pulled over.

But opponents note that a drivers' blood alcohol levels would be unaffected regardless of whether they hand off a bottle.

The state Department of Transportation also said Lundberg's bill wouldn't have met federal criteria for restoring a portion of the state's road funding because Tennessee is not in compliance with open container guidelines.