Pennsylvania CDL — General Knowledge practice
Pennsylvania CDL — General Knowledge: Alcohol & Drugs practice test
Blood alcohol limits, zero-tolerance and implied-consent laws, and how alcohol and drugs — legal or not — affect your driving.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
14 questions · pass with 11 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
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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.
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1. What actually sobers up a person who has been drinking?
Correct answer: Only the passage of time
Only time will sober you up; the liver removes alcohol at a fixed rate, and black coffee or a cold shower will not speed it up.
Source: Pennsylvania CDL Manual — Section 2: Driving Safely (Alcohol and Driving)
2. Which of the following contains about the same amount of alcohol?
Correct answer: A 12-oz beer, a 5-oz glass of wine, and a 1.5-oz shot of liquor
The alcohol content is identical across a 12-oz serving of 5% beer, a 5-oz pour of 12% wine, and a 1.5-oz shot of 80-proof liquor.
Source: Pennsylvania CDL Manual — Section 2: Driving Safely (What Is A Drink?)
3. If a first alcohol offense happens while you drive a CMV bearing hazardous materials placards, how long is the CDL loss?
Correct answer: At least three years
When the offense takes place in a CMV displaying hazmat placards, the CDL is lost for a minimum of three years.
4. Under Pennsylvania's implied consent law, what happens if you refuse a chemical test after being lawfully asked?
Correct answer: Your driving privilege is suspended for at least one year
Turning down a breath, blood, or urine test brings a one-year (12-month) loss of your driving privilege — applied even when a DUI charge ends in acquittal.
Source: Pennsylvania CDL Manual — Section 1: Introduction (Pennsylvania's Implied Consent Law)
5. For a first offense such as driving a CMV with a BAC of 0.04 percent or higher, how long will you lose your CDL?
Correct answer: At least one year
A first offense — for instance, operating a CMV at a BAC of 0.04 percent or above — brings a CDL loss of no less than one year.
6. About how much alcohol can the liver process in one hour?
Correct answer: About one-third of an ounce
Your liver clears roughly one-third of an ounce each hour — under the amount contained in a single standard drink.
Source: Pennsylvania CDL Manual — Section 2: Driving Safely (How Alcohol Works)
7. A driver of a typical commercial vehicle (other than a school bus) is considered to be driving under the influence at what BAC?
Correct answer: 0.04 percent or more
For a standard commercial vehicle (not a school bus), reaching a BAC of 0.04 percent or higher means you are legally impaired.
8. What does the manual say about legal prescription and over-the-counter drugs, such as cold medicines?
Correct answer: They can affect safe driving, so heed warning labels
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs like cold medicines may make a driver drowsy or otherwise affect safe driving; heed warning labels and a doctor's orders.
Source: Pennsylvania CDL Manual — Section 2: Driving Safely (Other Drugs)
9. A driver of a school bus or school vehicle is driving under the influence of alcohol at what BAC?
Correct answer: 0.02 percent or more
Behind the wheel of a school bus or school vehicle, a BAC that reaches 0.02 percent already counts as driving under the influence.
10. What factors determine a person's blood alcohol concentration?
Correct answer: The amount, how fast you drink, and your weight
BAC is determined by how much alcohol you drink, how fast you drink it, and your body weight.
Source: Pennsylvania CDL Manual — Section 2: Driving Safely (What Determines Blood Alcohol Concentration?)
11. How does alcohol interact with other drugs a driver may have taken?
Correct answer: It can intensify the effects of other drugs
Because alcohol may worsen how other drugs affect you, the safest approach is never to combine any drug with driving.
Source: Pennsylvania CDL Manual — Section 2: Driving Safely (Other Drugs)
12. What is the consequence of having any measurable alcohol under 0.04 percent while operating a CMV?
Correct answer: You are placed out of service for 24 hours
Any measurable alcohol below 0.04 percent results in a 24-hour out-of-service order.
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Every Pennsylvania question is written from the official Pennsylvania driver handbook and checked against its current edition. DMV Test Free is a free, independent study resource — not affiliated with any DMV or government agency. About DMV Test Free