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Nebraska driving lesson · Alcohol, Drugs & Driving

BAC limits, zero tolerance and implied consent

A 3-minute lesson from the Nebraska course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Alcohol, Drugs & Driving
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
32, 33

Alcohol and drugs are a major contributing factor in Nebraska crashes that kill or seriously injure people. The legal limit depends on your age and what you're driving, and by driving at all you've already agreed to be tested.

It is unlawful to drive in Nebraska with a BAC of:

It is unlawful to drive in Nebraska with a BAC of:
DriverIllegal BAC
Under 21.02% or higher
Operating a commercial motor vehicle.04% or higher
Any driver, any age or vehicle type.08% or higher
Handbook p. 32 ↗

Zero tolerance

Nebraska's law for drivers under 21: it is a violation to operate a motor vehicle with alcohol in your system.

Handbook p. 32 ↗

Know the rule

It is unlawful for drivers AND passengers to consume or possess an open container of alcohol inside any vehicle on a public roadway or in a public parking area.

Handbook p. 32 ↗

Know the rule

It is unlawful to provide alcohol to a minor, and the person who does may be held liable for damages.

Handbook p. 32 ↗

Implied consent

By driving on Nebraska roads you have already agreed to submit to a chemical test of blood, breath or urine when a law enforcement officer requests it.

Handbook p. 32 ↗

Know the rule

Refusing a chemical test, or failing to complete one in the officer's judgment, violates the Implied Consent law and is a separate crime you can be charged with.

Handbook p. 32 ↗

Penalties for refusing a test:

  • Administrative sanction: one year of license revocation
  • Criminal penalties equal to those for a DUI conviction with a BAC of .15 or over
  • License revocation of two to fifteen years depending on prior convictions, plus fines and jail
Handbook p. 32 ↗

Know the rule

Violations of the BAC limits bring criminal and/or administrative revocation of your license.

Handbook p. 32 ↗
8,000+

Average arrests each year in Nebraska for driving violations involving alcohol or drugs

Handbook p. 33 ↗

Put it into practice

You're 20 and had one beer before driving. A test shows .03 BAC. That's under the .08 adult limit but over the .02 under-21 limit, so it's a violation. Refusing the test would have meant a one-year administrative revocation.

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.

What is the illegal BAC limit for a driver 21 or older operating a non-commercial vehicle?
  1. .04% or higher
  2. .02% or higher
  3. .08% or higher
  4. .10% or higher

Answer: .08% or higher

Drivers 21+ are illegal at .08% BAC or higher.

Handbook p. 32 ↗
What is the illegal BAC limit for a driver under 21?
  1. .00%, any amount detected
  2. .04% or higher
  3. .08% or higher
  4. .02% or higher

Answer: .02% or higher

Under-21 drivers are illegal at .02% BAC or higher.

Handbook p. 32 ↗
What is the illegal BAC limit for operating a commercial motor vehicle?
  1. .04% or higher
  2. .02% or higher
  3. .08% or higher
  4. .06% or higher

Answer: .04% or higher

Commercial drivers are illegal at .04% BAC or higher.

Handbook p. 32 ↗
It is unlawful to have an open container of alcohol in a vehicle on a Nebraska public roadway for:
  1. Drivers only, not passengers
  2. Both drivers and passengers
  3. Passengers only, not the driver
  4. Anyone, but only while the vehicle is moving

Answer: Both drivers and passengers

The open container law applies to both drivers and passengers.

Handbook p. 32 ↗
By driving on Nebraska roadways, a driver has already agreed to:
  1. Pay any fine an officer assesses on the spot
  2. Waive the right to a court hearing
  3. Submit to a chemical test if requested by a law enforcement officer
  4. Allow a vehicle search without a warrant

Answer: Submit to a chemical test if requested by a law enforcement officer

Implied Consent means drivers have already agreed to chemical testing.

Handbook p. 32 ↗
Refusing a chemical test for alcohol or drugs is:
  1. Not a violation if you pass a field sobriety test
  2. Only a civil infraction with a small fine
  3. Legal as long as you request a lawyer first
  4. A separate crime under Nebraska's Implied Consent law

Answer: A separate crime under Nebraska's Implied Consent law

Refusal is a separate crime under Implied Consent.

Handbook p. 32 ↗
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