Alcohol & Drugs

Study questions with answers

12 sample Alcohol & Drugs questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.

1. 1. How does alcohol interact with other drugs a driver may have taken?

   Correct answer: Alcohol can greatly intensify the effects of other drugs

   Combined with other drugs, alcohol can intensify their effects considerably, so the safest policy is to keep all drugs away from driving.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.2 (Other Drugs)

2. 2. It is illegal to operate a commercial motor vehicle when your blood alcohol concentration reaches what level?

   Correct answer: .04 percent or more

   You may not operate a CMV with a BAC of .04 percent or more; a first offense costs your CDL for at least one year.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 1.3.2 (Alcohol, Leaving the Scene, and Felony)

3. 3. When may a driver use a prescription drug and still operate a commercial vehicle?

   Correct answer: Only if the doctor says it will not affect safe driving

   A doctor-prescribed medication is allowed only when the physician tells you it will have no effect on your ability to drive safely.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.2 (Other Drugs)

4. 4. Which of the driver's abilities does alcohol impair?

   Correct answer: Muscle coordination, reaction time, depth perception, and judgment

   Drinking dulls coordination, slows reaction time, and harms depth perception and night vision, while also affecting judgment and self-restraint.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.1 (Alcohol and Driving)

5. 5. A first alcohol or drug offense that occurs while the driver is operating a CMV placarded for hazardous materials costs the CDL for at least how long?

   Correct answer: At least three years

   The disqualification jumps to at least three years for a first offense committed while operating a CMV placarded for hazardous materials.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 1.3.2 (Alcohol, Leaving the Scene, and Felony)

6. 6. A driver found with any detectable amount of alcohol below .04 percent faces what consequence?

   Correct answer: Being placed out of service for 24 hours

   Any detectable alcohol under .04 percent puts the driver out of service for 24 hours.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 1.3.2 (Alcohol, Leaving the Scene, and Felony)

7. 7. What is the only thing that will actually reduce the alcohol level in a person's body?

   Correct answer: The passage of time

   Only the passage of time will sober you up; coffee, a cold shower, or fresh air do not speed the removal of alcohol.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.1 (Alcohol and Driving)

8. 8. Three factors together determine a person's blood alcohol concentration. Which set is correct?

   Correct answer: How much you drink, how fast you drink, and your body weight

   BAC depends on how much alcohol you drink, how fast you drink it, and your body weight.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.1 (Alcohol and Driving)

9. 9. A 12-ounce glass of beer, a 5-ounce glass of table wine, and a 1½-ounce shot of 80-proof liquor share what in common?

   Correct answer: They all contain the same amount of alcohol

   Each of these standard drinks contains the same amount of alcohol, so it does not matter which form the alcohol comes in.

   Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.1 (Alcohol and Driving)

10. 10. By operating a CMV, a driver is legally deemed to have agreed to what?

    Correct answer: To alcohol testing when requested

    Operating a CMV means you have given implied consent to alcohol testing; refusing the test brings the same one-year loss as driving over the limit.

    Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 1.3.2 (Alcohol, Leaving the Scene, and Felony)

11. 11. What does the manual advise a driver who becomes too ill to drive safely?

    Correct answer: Not drive, except in an emergency to the nearest safe stopping place

    When illness leaves you unable to drive safely you must stop driving, except that in an emergency you may continue to the closest safe place to pull over.

    Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.3 (Illness)

12. 12. The manual warns against using any drug that hides fatigue. Why?

    Correct answer: Because the only real cure for fatigue is rest

    Drugs that mask fatigue do not make you alert; the only real cure for fatigue is rest, and such drugs can leave you dangerously tired.

    Source: Colorado CDL Manual, Section 2.22.2 (Other Drugs)