A 3-minute lesson from the Tennessee course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Tennessee takes impaired driving so seriously that by law at least a quarter of your knowledge test is about alcohol and drugs. It starts with understanding what alcohol does inside your body — and why only time sobers you up.
25 percent
Minimum share of knowledge test questions that must cover alcohol and drugs (by law)
Alcohol starts entering your bloodstream within one to two minutes of drinking. You become intoxicated when you drink faster than your liver can oxidize (burn off) the alcohol.
One 12-ounce beer has about the same alcohol as a 1-ounce shot of whiskey. It takes about one hour to cancel the effects of one drink, and about three hours for three drinks.
You have three beers between 9 and 10 p.m. At about one drink per hour, your body needs roughly three hours to clear them — until about 1 a.m. Coffee or a cold shower won't change that. Plan 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.
In Tennessee, what Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level is considered legal intoxication for a driver 21 or older?
.08 percent
.05 percent
.10 percent
.02 percent
Answer: .08 percent
A BAC of .08 percent is the level of legal intoxication for adult drivers in Tennessee.