Drinking alcohol and driving is:
- A minor traffic safety problem
- A serious traffic safety problem ✓
- Safe if you only have a few drinks
- Only dangerous to the driver who drinks
Answer: B. A serious traffic safety problem
Drinking alcohol and driving is a serious traffic safety problem.
Why this is the answer
The handbook states plainly that driving while impaired or intoxicated is a serious traffic safety problem in the United States, and it points out that more than 40 percent of motor vehicle deaths in New York involve impaired driving. It also says that when you drink alcohol, safe driving is not possible, and that each impaired driver is dangerous to themselves and to everyone else on the road. That is why the answer is the serious-problem choice, not a minor one.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. A minor traffic safety problem — The manual calls impaired driving a serious traffic safety problem, not a minor one.
- C. Safe if you only have a few drinks — The manual says that when you drink alcohol, safe driving is not possible, so no amount of drinks makes it safe.
- D. Only dangerous to the driver who drinks — The manual says an impaired driver puts both their own life and the lives of those they share the road with at risk, so the danger is not limited to the drinker.
Remember it
Remember the manual's own ranking: alcohol-impaired driving sits at the top as a serious highway safety problem, never a small one.