Driving under the influence of any medication which impairs your driving is permitted
- under no circumstances ✓
- if you don't feel drowsy
- if it is prescribed by a physician
Answer: A. under no circumstances
Driving under the influence of any medication that impairs your driving is not permitted under any circumstances.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says DUI laws apply to alcohol and drugs, and it is illegal to drive while under the influence of any drug that affects your ability to drive safely. It also says the law does not treat illegal drugs differently from medications you get from a doctor or pharmacy. Prescription and over-the-counter medications are included when they affect your driving. So a prescription or how you feel does not make impaired driving allowed.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. if you don't feel drowsy — Not feeling drowsy is not an exception in the handbook, which says any drug that affects your ability to drive makes it illegal to drive.
- C. if it is prescribed by a physician — A physician's prescription does not make it allowed, because the handbook says the law does not distinguish between illegal drugs and medications from a doctor or pharmacy.
Remember it
Read the label and know the medicine's effects before you drive; a prescription is not a permission slip.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 9: Alcohol and Drugs, p. 72