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South Carolina driving lesson · Be in Shape to Drive

Alcohol: effects & BAC limits

A 3-minute lesson from the South Carolina 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
Be in Shape to Drive
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
37, 38

Alcohol and other impairing drugs make a crash far more likely, even in small amounts. New drivers, still learning complex skills, are affected even more.

About 40%

Share of fatal traffic collisions each year involving alcohol or other impairing drugs

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Know the rule

If you're under 21, it's illegal to purchase, possess or drink alcoholic beverages.

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Zero tolerance

Laws in all states meaning no alcohol in the circulatory system (or similar laws) for drivers under 21.

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Alcohol and other impairing drugs reduce your:

  • Judgment: your brain's store of experience used for new problems
  • Vision: blurs, slows focusing, causes double vision, hurts judging distance and speed
  • Color distinction
  • Reaction time: slower to process information and respond
Handbook p. 37 ↗
0.02%

BAC at which vision is impacted, for all drivers

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Know the rule

Impairment starts with the first drink. With one or more drinks in your bloodstream you could be arrested for driving under the influence.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

BAC

Blood alcohol concentration: the percentage of alcohol in relation to the amount of blood in your body.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

A DUI or DUAC conviction, a BAC of 0.15% or more, or refusing implied consent testing can get your license and driving privileges suspended.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

You can be convicted of impaired driving with a BAC of only 0.05, or a lower BAC combined with drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Drivers under 21

Drivers under 21
If you...Result
Register a BAC of 0.02% or greaterSuspended immediately for at least 3 months
Refuse the test(s) for intoxicantsLose privileges immediately, at least 6 months
Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

Never let a friend or relative drive if he or she has been drinking.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Put it into practice

You're 19 and had one beer at a party two hours ago. You feel fine, but a BAC of just 0.02% means an immediate suspension of at least three months for you. Get a ride instead.

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.

Approximately what percentage of fatal traffic collisions each year involve alcohol or other impairing drugs?
  1. 40%
  2. 10%
  3. 25%
  4. 60%

Answer: 40%

Alcohol and other impairing drugs are involved in approximately 40% of all traffic collisions in which someone is killed each year.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
At what blood alcohol content (BAC) is vision impaired for all drivers?
  1. 0.08 percent
  2. 0.02 percent
  3. 0.05 percent
  4. 0.15 percent

Answer: 0.02 percent

Vision is impacted at 0.02 percent BAC for all drivers.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
If you are under 21 and register a BAC of 0.02 percent or greater, your driving privilege is suspended immediately for at least:
  1. Six months
  2. One month
  3. One year
  4. Three months

Answer: Three months

A driver under 21 with a BAC of 0.02 percent or greater has their privilege to drive suspended immediately for at least three months.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
If you refuse to take a lawfully-requested test for intoxicants, you will immediately lose your driving privileges for at least:
  1. Six months
  2. Three months
  3. One month
  4. One year

Answer: Six months

Refusing to take the test(s) for intoxicants results in an immediate loss of driving privileges for at least six months.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
Which BAC figure does the manual cite when warning that you can still be convicted of impaired driving at a low BAC?
  1. 0.02 percent
  2. 0.10 percent
  3. 0.05 percent
  4. 0.15 percent

Answer: 0.05 percent

You can still be convicted of impaired driving with a BAC of only 0.05, or with a lower BAC combined with drugs.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
Which statement about alcohol and driving matches the manual?
  1. It reduces judgment and color distinction
  2. Its effects are weaker for new drivers
  3. It improves focus but slows reflexes
  4. It affects vision only above 0.08 BAC

Answer: It reduces judgment and color distinction

Alcohol reduces judgment, vision, color distinction, and reaction time; vision is impacted at 0.02 BAC and effects are greater for new drivers.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
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