Drinking alcohol and driving is:
- A minor traffic safety problem.
- A serious traffic safety problem. ✓
- Safe if you have only had 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 New York manual calls driving while impaired or intoxicated a serious traffic safety problem. It says 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. Even if a impaired driver does not cause a crash, the manual says each one is dangerous and puts their own life and the lives of others on the road at risk.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. A minor traffic safety problem. — It is not minor, because the manual describes impaired driving as a serious traffic safety problem.
- C. Safe if you have only had a few drinks. — The manual says safe driving is not possible when you drink alcohol, so having only a few drinks does not make it safe.
- D. Only dangerous to the driver who drinks. — The manual says an impaired driver is dangerous to themselves and to those they share the road with, not only to the driver who drinks.
Remember it
When you see 'just a few drinks,' remember the manual's point that drinking and safe driving do not go together.