When people have been drinking alcohol, they may think, INCORRECTLY, that
- their mental ability is sharp ✓
- their concentration is reduced
- their reflexes are slower
- they are more easily angered
Answer: A. their mental ability is sharp
People who have been drinking may wrongly believe that their mental ability is sharp.
Why this is the answer
The handbook lists the symptoms of an impaired driver, and among them is the belief that your thinking is sharp even though you can no longer make sound driving decisions. That is the incorrect belief the question asks about: alcohol has already blurred the person's judgment, so the person misjudges their own skill. The same list shows the real effects that go with it, such as unclear reasoning and reduced concentration.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. their concentration is reduced — Reduced concentration is a real symptom of impairment that the handbook lists, so a drinker who noticed it would not be holding an incorrect belief.
- C. their reflexes are slower — Slower reflexes are exactly what alcohol does to a driver, so this is a correct expectation rather than a mistaken one.
- D. they are more easily angered — An unstable emotional state, including being more easily angered, is listed as an actual effect of drinking, not a false belief.
Remember it
Alcohol attacks the judge before the driving: the same drink that slows your reactions also convinces you that you are fine.