Impaired Driving & Penalties — South Carolina
South Carolina CDL practice test: 447 free practice questions (Based on the official driver handbook). The official format is not yet verified; check the official site before your test. Impaired Driving & Penalties: 11 questions.
Blood alcohol limits, drugs and fatigue, licence suspensions, demerit points and fines.
This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines.
| Topic / Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Topic | Impaired Driving & Penalties |
| License test | South Carolina CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 11 (2% of 447 total) |
| Review status | This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines. |
Official handbook
Not yet verified
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Questions (11)
1. Which of the following is not a sign of a driver becoming tired?
- Frequent blinking
- Drifting from their lane
- Feeling hungry ✓
Answer: C. Feeling hungry
Feeling hungry is not a sign of a driver becoming tired. The handbook's list of fatigue warning signs includes drifting from your lane, following too closely, hitting a shoulder rumble strip, feeling restless and irritable, and trouble remembering the last few miles. Hunger does not appear on that list. The handbook tells you to treat these warning signs seriously: if you notice any signs of fatigue, stop driving and sleep for the night or take a 15 to 20 minute nap. Feeling hungry is a normal body signal about food, not a fatigue warning.
2. Distracted driving:
- Is not a concern.
- Only happens when drivers are physically doing something, like using a cell phone.
- Can occur due to mental activities, such as daydreaming. ✓
- Is encouraged on uncrowded roads.
Answer: C. Can occur due to mental activities, such as daydreaming.
Distracted driving can occur because of mental activities, including daydreaming. The handbook lists daydreaming and being occupied with other mental distractions among the activities inside a vehicle that can distract your attention. It also separates mental distraction, which takes your mind off the road, from physical distraction, which takes your hands or eyes away. That makes clear that distracted driving is not limited to handling a phone; thinking about something else while driving counts. The handbook says distracted driving can cause collisions and the resulting injury, death, or property damage.
3. If a driver begins to feel fatigued while driving, they should:
- Continue driving.
- Drink coffee.
- Stop and rest. ✓
- Drive faster to finish the trip more quickly.
Answer: C. Stop and rest.
If you begin to feel fatigued while driving, you should stop and rest. The handbook's fatigue section says that when you feel tired, you should stop driving and get some rest or take a nap. It also says caffeine can increase awareness for only a few hours, then wears off, so you should not rely on it to prevent fatigue. The signs of fatigue should tell you to stop and rest. That supports stopping to rest rather than continuing, using coffee, or trying to finish faster.
4. How could you reduce your stress while driving?
- Drink a caffeinated beverage
- Talk on your cell phone
- Gesture at other drivers
- Listen to calming music ✓
Answer: D. Listen to calming music
Listening to calming music, such as easy listening, is a way to reduce your stress while driving. The handbook's section on not being an aggressive driver tells you to reduce stress before and while you drive, and one of its listed steps is to listen to easy listening music. The same passage pairs this with giving the drive your full attention and not letting cell phone talk or eating distract you. So calming music is the stress-reducer the handbook names, while the other choices either add distraction or make things worse.
5. Texting while operating a CMV is:
- Illegal. ✓
- Acceptable on rural roads.
- Acceptable for drivers contacting their employers.
Answer: A. Illegal.
Texting while operating a CMV is illegal. The handbook's texting section says federal rules prohibit CMV drivers from texting while driving in interstate commerce, and it adds that motor carriers may not require or allow drivers to text. Another passage ties texting violations to CDL disqualification and civil penalties, with only an emergency exception for contacting law enforcement or emergency services. So texting is not permitted based on road type or because an employer wants contact. The answer is the choice saying it is illegal.
6. Exercise will help a person sober up after drinking.
- True
- False ✓
Answer: B. False
False — exercise will not sober a person up after drinking; only time removes alcohol from the body. The handbook explains that alcohol goes into the bloodstream and is carried to the brain, and the liver clears it at a fixed rate of about one-third an ounce per hour — far less than a standard drink contains. Because that rate is fixed, the handbook says plainly that only time sobers you up, not black coffee or a cold shower. Exercise is the same kind of remedy as coffee or a cold shower: it does not speed up what the liver is doing, so it cannot make someone sober.
7. When driving, you should stop and take a break ____ to avoid becoming too tired.
- Every half hour
- Every hour
- Every two hours ✓
- Every six hours
Answer: C. Every two hours
You should stop and take a break about every two hours during a long trip to keep from getting too tired. The handbook's list of ways to stay alert on the road includes taking periodic breaks, and it puts the timing at roughly every 100 miles or 2 hours on long trips. The same section warns that trying to push on while tired is a major cause of fatal accidents, and it tells you to stop driving and rest or nap once you notice signs of fatigue. So the two-hour mark is the book's own break interval, not a guess.
8. Sending text messages while driving:
- May be done if the messages are short.
- Is encouraged.
- Is permitted if you are asking a question of your employer.
- Is not permitted. ✓
Answer: D. Is not permitted.
Sending text messages while driving is not permitted. The handbook states plainly that you may not send or read text messages while driving. It treats texting as a serious distraction: you take your eyes off the road to look at a screen and use your hands, and the risk of a safety-critical event rises sharply. The rule is written as a flat prohibition, not as something that depends on message length or who the message is for. That is why the correct choice is that texting is not permitted.
9. Which of the following is not an example of a distracted person that motorists should be worried about?
- A driver talking to a passenger in their vehicle
- A child on the side of the road
- A construction worker on the side of the road
- A person sitting on a bench waiting for a bus ✓
Answer: D. A person sitting on a bench waiting for a bus
10. To prevent fatigue while driving, you should:
- Keep the cab warm.
- Keep the cab cool. ✓
- Keep the cab poorly ventilated.
- Close the vents.
Answer: B. Keep the cab cool.
Keep the cab cool — the handbook's alertness list says to keep cool by opening a window or running the air conditioner. The fatigue section of the handbook gives a short list of things you can do to stay alert behind the wheel, and one of those items is to keep cool by opening the window or using the air conditioner. That cooling advice sits right alongside other alertness habits such as wearing sunglasses against glare and eyestrain, taking periodic breaks, and stopping to rest or nap. Since the handbook names keeping cool as the way to help maintain alertness, keeping the cab cool is the choice that matches it.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Not yet verified
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook