Roadwise States Hawaii Driving lessons How alcohol and drugs affect you, and open containers Hawaii driving lesson · Alcohol & Drugs
How alcohol and drugs affect you, and open containers A 3-minute lesson from the Hawaii course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Read time 3 minutes
Course unit Alcohol & Drugs
Checkpoint questions 6
Source pages 55, 56 Alcohol and many drugs quietly erode the skills driving needs. Because they affect judgment, people easily misjudge how intoxicated they are. Even slightly intoxicated drivers make serious mistakes.
Know the rule
Alcohol is a depressant, not a stimulant. It slows reflexes, interferes with judgment, reduces alertness and impairs vision.
Handbook p. 55 ↗ Know the rule
Feeling stimulated after drinking only means your inhibitions are lowered, causing loss of caution and self-control.
Handbook p. 55 ↗ Facts about alcohol: Beer, wine or whiskey – it's the amount of alcohol in your blood that matters A small amount on an empty stomach affects you faster than after a meal Once alcohol is in your blood, nothing lessens its effect Black coffee, food or a cold shower may wake you up but won't sober you up Your liver burns alcohol; kidneys and lungs eliminate it – this takes time Handbook p. 55 ↗ Know the rule
Drivers under 21 may not operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .02 or more (zero tolerance).
Handbook p. 56 ↗ Know the rule
It is against the law to consume or possess any alcoholic beverage on any public highway or public sidewalk.
Handbook p. 56 ↗ Know the rule
Storing an opened alcoholic beverage container in the area normally occupied by the driver or passengers is prohibited on any public road.
Handbook p. 56 ↗ Other drugs: Ask your doctor how any medicine might affect your driving before taking it Some non-prescription allergy remedies and cold pills can affect driving Amphetamines (stimulants, diet pills) are called 'pep pills' and 'speed' Overdoses of these or of tranquilizers or sedatives ('downers') can impair driving and cause death Alcohol plus drugs can have a much more pronounced effect – never mix them LSD, heroin and cocaine can make users unaware of or indifferent to surroundings Illegal-market drugs are dangerous because strength and purity are unknown Handbook p. 56 ↗ Know the rule
Anyone under the influence of drugs such as LSD, heroin or cocaine must not try to operate a motor vehicle.
Handbook p. 56 ↗ Put it into practice
After a party, a friend says a cup of black coffee will make her fine to drive. It won't: coffee may wake her up, but only time lets her liver burn off the alcohol. Find her another way home.
A useful reminder Nothing speeds sobering up. Any answer promising coffee, food or a shower works is wrong.
Check your understanding Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
Alcohol is a: stimulant that speeds up reflexes stimulant that sharpens judgment depressant that slows reflexes depressant that improves alertness Answer: depressant that slows reflexes
Alcohol is a depressant that slows reflexes and impairs judgment.
Handbook p. 55 ↗ Alcohol is a factor in about what percentage of fatal motor vehicle crashes nationwide? 10% 40% 25% 60% Answer: 40%
Alcohol is a factor in roughly 40% of fatal crashes.
Handbook p. 55 ↗ It is illegal in Hawaii to: ride as a passenger after drinking take a taxi home after drinking drink an alcoholic beverage on a public sidewalk drive with passengers who are 21 or older Answer: drink an alcoholic beverage on a public sidewalk
It is against the law to consume or possess any alcoholic beverage on any public highway or public sidewalk.
Handbook p. 56 ↗ Storing an opened alcoholic beverage container in the area normally occupied by the driver or passengers is: allowed only for passengers allowed if the cap is on prohibited on any public road allowed if the vehicle is parked Answer: prohibited on any public road
Storing an opened container in the driver/passenger area is prohibited on public roads.
Handbook p. 56 ↗ Coffee, food, or a cold shower after drinking will: sober you up quickly not sober you up; only time will cut your BAC in half sober you up if you use all three together Answer: not sober you up; only time will
Only time allows the body to metabolize and eliminate alcohol.
Handbook p. 55 ↗ Mixing alcohol and other drugs: is always safe in small amounts cancels out the effects of both only affects reaction time, not judgment can have a much more pronounced effect than either taken alone Answer: can have a much more pronounced effect than either taken alone
Combining alcohol and drugs can produce a much stronger effect than either alone.
Handbook p. 56 ↗ Previous lesson BAC limits, implied consent and license revocation Next lesson Bad driving habits and distraction About the source Roadwise’s Hawaii course uses the driver handbook edition supplied with this study pack. This lesson cites source pages 55, 56. The linked PDF is a third-party mirror of the handbook, rather than a government-hosted page.
Open the handbook source PDF · View the source edition
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