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Rhode Island driving lesson · Drinking, Drugs & Driving

Alcohol & Other Drugs: Effects on Driving

A 3-minute lesson from the Rhode Island 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
Drinking, Drugs & Driving
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
60

Alcohol is by far the greatest hazard for a driver. It reaches your brain within seconds and first attacks judgment and skill—the very things that tell you whether you're OK to drive. Many medicines and drugs impair you too, and mixing them with alcohol multiplies the danger.

Alcohol and crashes:

  • Rhode Island's legal drinking age is 21
  • Drunk drivers cause more than half of collisions in which somebody is killed
  • More than 10,000 people die each year in U.S. alcohol-related collisions; 1,900 are teenagers
  • Drinking even a little makes your chance of a collision seven times greater
Handbook p. 60 ↗

Know the rule

Alcohol reaches the brain in seconds, affecting it before any other part of the body. It first affects judgment and skill, then depth perception, judging speed and other vehicles, and control of your own vehicle.

Handbook p. 60 ↗

Know the rule

Alcohol slows reflexes, interferes with judgment, and reduces alertness and vision. Some drinkers seem stimulated only because alcohol lowers inhibition and self-control.

Handbook p. 60 ↗

One drink = about the same alcohol

One drink = about the same alcohol
DrinkServing
Beer12 ounces
Wine4 to 5 ounces
Hard liquor1 to 1½ ounces
Handbook p. 60 ↗

Know the rule

Alcohol hits faster on an empty stomach, and its effects are greater when you're taking medicine or are tired.

Handbook p. 60 ↗

Know the rule

Only time reduces the effects of alcohol. Coffee, food, fresh air or exercise may wake a drunk person up, but won't sober them up.

Handbook p. 60 ↗

The body eliminates alcohol by:

  • Breathing
  • Perspiring
  • Oxidation (removed by the liver)
Handbook p. 60 ↗

Other drugs and driving:

  • Medicines for headaches, colds, hay fever, allergies or nerves can make you drowsy
  • Ask your doctor about driving side effects of prescriptions
  • Some drugs make you alert briefly, then nervous, dizzy, tired or less attentive
  • Tranquilizers and sedatives cause drowsiness—especially dangerous with alcohol
  • Marijuana: slower reaction, altered attention, more lane weaving, slower glare recovery
  • LSD, cocaine and heroin make users unable to drive safely
Handbook p. 60 ↗

Synergistic effect

When alcohol is combined with another drug and the effects are multiplied. One drink plus even a cold remedy can impair you like several drinks.

Handbook p. 60 ↗

Put it into practice

After two beers you drink three cups of coffee and feel alert. You're still impaired—caffeine doesn't remove alcohol. Only time does, so find another ride.

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 legal drinking age in Rhode Island?
  1. 18
  2. 19
  3. 20
  4. 21

Answer: 21

The legal drinking age in Rhode Island is 21.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
If you drink even a little, how much greater is your chance of a collision, per the handbook?
  1. Seven times greater
  2. Two times greater
  3. Twenty times greater
  4. It's about the same

Answer: Seven times greater

If you drink, even just a little, your chances of a collision are seven times greater than if you don't drink.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
Which two containers of alcohol have roughly the same amount of alcohol as a 12-ounce beer?
  1. An 8-10 oz glass of wine and a 3 oz shot of liquor
  2. A 4-5 oz glass of wine and a 1-1.5 oz shot of liquor
  3. A 12 oz glass of wine and a 2 oz shot of liquor
  4. A 2 oz glass of wine and a half-ounce shot

Answer: A 4-5 oz glass of wine and a 1-1.5 oz shot of liquor

A 12-oz beer, a 4-5 oz glass of wine, and a 1-1.5 oz shot of liquor contain about the same amount of alcohol.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
Which three methods does the body use to eliminate alcohol?
  1. Breathing, sleeping, and drinking coffee
  2. Perspiring, exercise, and eating food
  3. Breathing, perspiring, and oxidation by the liver
  4. Urinating, breathing, and fresh air

Answer: Breathing, perspiring, and oxidation by the liver

The body eliminates alcohol through breathing, perspiring, and oxidation removed by the liver.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
What happens when alcohol is combined with another drug, even a common cold remedy?
  1. The effects of alcohol are usually cancelled out
  2. There is no interaction unless the drug is illegal
  3. It only affects reaction time, not judgment
  4. A synergistic effect can multiply the impairing effects

Answer: A synergistic effect can multiply the impairing effects

Combining alcohol with another drug can cause a synergistic effect where the effects are multiplied, posing a serious hazard.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
What is the only thing that reduces the effects of alcohol, per the handbook?
  1. Time
  2. Coffee
  3. Food
  4. Fresh air

Answer: Time

After drinking, nothing reduces the effects of alcohol except time; coffee or food might wake you up, but won't sober you up.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
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