Tennessee is required to spend a chunk of its federal highway dollars on traffic safety because the state doesn't have a ban on open containers of alcohol in vehicles.

The state is one of only 14 nationwide that allows open alcohol containers in vehicles; last year, that distinction pulled 3 percent, or about $12 million, out of the highway construction budget and put it to other uses, USA Today reported.

The federal government mandated in 2001 that states either pass open container laws or spend a percentage of federal highway dollars on public safety projects such as installing cables to prevent crossover accidents and drunken driving checkpoints.

“It's not designed as a punishment, but it is a transfer from one use to another,” said Tim Hurd, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “If safety is diminished by the fact they don't have an open-container law, some funds have to be used for enforcement programs or the reduction of hazards.”

Currently, Tennessee outlaws drivers from drinking and driving but has no provision preventing passengers over 21 from consuming alcohol.

A bill – SB1717 – introduced by Sen. Jim Bryson, R-Franklin, would eliminate the open container provision in state law. It is in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.