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Wyoming driving lesson · Seat Belts, Alcohol & Drugs

Implied consent and other drugs

A 3-minute lesson from the Wyoming 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
Seat Belts, Alcohol & Drugs
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
37, 38, 91

Driving on Wyoming's public roads means you've already agreed to be tested for alcohol if you're arrested. Many everyday medicines can also impair you, and driving under the influence of any controlled drug is DWUI.

Implied Consent

By driving on a public street or highway, you're deemed to have consented to chemical tests for BAC if arrested for driving under the influence.

Handbook p. 37 ↗

DWUI

Driving While Under the Influence: operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or of a controlled substance.

Handbook p. 91 ↗

After a DWUI arrest:

  • If you REFUSE the test, law enforcement may get a warrant to have it given by an approved tester
  • If your BAC is 0.08% or more, your license is suspended for 90 days, and criminal penalties may follow
  • You may be convicted of DWUI at a BAC of 0.05% along with other supporting evidence
Handbook p. 37 ↗

How common drugs affect you

How common drugs affect you
DrugEffect on driving
Diet / stay-awake pillsFalse alertness, more risk-taking, hide fatigue
Sleeping pillsDrowsy; affect all IPDE skills for hours
Allergy pills, cold remediesMay contain codeine or alcohol; sleepiness
TranquilizersLess alert, sleepy; effects last hours
Marijuana, LSD, heroinIllegal, unpredictable; never drive on them
Handbook p. 37 ↗

Know the rule

Most common drugs (diet, sleeping, allergy, tranquilizers) affect at least one of the major skills you need to drive.

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Know the rule

Driving While Under the Influence of any controlled drug is not legal. You may be charged and convicted of DWUI.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Be careful with medicine:

  • Don't drive on a new medicine until you're sure it won't impair your driving
  • Ask your doctor how any prescribed drug might affect your driving
  • Read the label carefully before buying or using any over-the-counter drug
Handbook p. 38 ↗

Put it into practice

You took a cold remedy and feel drowsy. These pills can contain antihistamines, codeine or alcohol and can impair your thinking. Don't drive until you're sure the effects have worn off.

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.

A person may be legally charged with DWUI for driving under the influence of a legally prescribed controlled drug.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

Driving While Under the Influence of any controlled drug, prescribed or not, is not legal, and a driver may be charged and convicted of DWUI.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
Sleeping pills can affect all of the driving IPDE skills for several hours after they are taken.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

Sleeping pills can make thinking difficult, affect emotions, and cause sleepiness, affecting all of the driving IPDE skills for several hours.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
A driver's BAC test comes back at 0.06 percent. Under Wyoming law, can this still support a DWUI conviction?
  1. No, only a BAC of 0.08 percent or more supports a conviction
  2. Yes, with a BAC of 0.05 percent or more plus other supporting evidence
  3. No, a DWUI conviction requires a BAC of at least 0.10 percent
  4. Yes, but only for drivers under 21

Answer: Yes, with a BAC of 0.05 percent or more plus other supporting evidence

A driver may be convicted of DWUI with a BAC of 0.05 percent and other supporting evidence, even below the 0.08 percent Administrative Per Se threshold.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
What happens if a driver refuses a chemical test after a DWUI arrest?
  1. The DWUI charge must be dropped
  2. The officer must release the driver
  3. Officers may get a warrant for the test
  4. The driver may choose a later test date

Answer: Officers may get a warrant for the test

Under the Implied Consent law, if a driver refuses testing, law enforcement may obtain a warrant to require the test be administered.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
How do 'stay-awake' pills affect a driver who is actually fatigued?
  1. They fully restore normal reaction time
  2. They have no effect on driving ability
  3. They only affect a driver's vision, not judgment
  4. They give a false sense of alertness

Answer: They give a false sense of alertness

Stay-awake pills give drivers a false feeling of alertness, but they do not restore the ability to identify critical objects and make quick decisions.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
Which drugs are intended to help a person calm down, but make them less alert and sleepy for several hours?
  1. Tranquilizers
  2. Diet pills
  3. Allergy pills
  4. Pep pills

Answer: Tranquilizers

Tranquilizers are intended to help a person calm down, but they make a person less alert and sleepy, and the effects may last several hours.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
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