Impaired Driving & Penalties — Texas
Texas permit practice test: 580 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: 45 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 | Texas Car learner's permit test |
| Topic questions | 45 (8% of 580 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
Texas Driver Handbook (dps.texas.gov, DL-7) ✓ Verified from official source
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Questions (45)
1. It is illegal for a person 21 years of age or older to drive with a minimum blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of:
- 0.05 percent.
- 0.08 percent. ✓
- 0.02 percent.
- 0.1 percent.
Answer: B. 0.08 percent.
For a driver 21 or older, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. The handbook says a person is legally intoxicated at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, and it repeats that anyone with 0.08 or more is considered intoxicated. It also ties the adult license suspension rule to a test result showing 0.08 or more. Because the question asks for the minimum BAC that makes driving illegal for an adult, the threshold is 0.08 percent. The lower figures are below the stated adult limit, and 0.1 percent is above it rather than the minimum.
2. What happens if you drink alcohol while taking prescription or over-the-counter medicine?
- The medicine reduces the effect of the alcohol.
- The alcohol will help the medicine cure a cold.
- The combination could multiply the effects of the alcohol or medicine. ✓
- There is no effect because they are different substances.
Answer: C. The combination could multiply the effects of the alcohol or medicine.
3. Texting while driving is allowed:
- When there are very few cars around.
- Under no circumstances. ✓
- If drivers are using voice-to-text.
- If the driver's eyes only leave the road for a couple of seconds.
Answer: B. Under no circumstances.
Texting while driving is not allowed under any circumstances; the correct choice is "Under no circumstances." The Texas handbook says it is against the law to read, write, or send messages on a cell phone or other portable wireless device while driving. It tells drivers not to answer a ringing phone or respond to a text, and its distraction section says not to read, text, or write while you drive. The handbook mentions using a phone to contact law enforcement or during an emergency, and says if you must make a call, pull safely off the road first. That supports a no-texting rule while driving.
4. You experience an incident at work that has left you feeling angry. When you get to your car, you should:
- Play the radio loudly so you won’t think about it.
- Drive fast on the interstate to let off steam.
- Take a few minutes to cool off before you begin your drive home. ✓
- Stop at your favorite bar and have a few drinks before driving home.
Answer: C. Take a few minutes to cool off before you begin your drive home.
5. Taking drugs along with alcohol:
- Increases the risk of causing a crash. ✓
- Is no more dangerous than consuming alcohol by itself.
- Lessens the effect of alcohol on your ability to drive.
- Has no effect on your general driving ability.
Answer: A. Increases the risk of causing a crash.
Taking drugs together with alcohol increases the risk of causing a crash. The handbook says people often do not realize that drugs or alcohol affect the mental and physical skills needed to drive and react. It states that using more than one drug at the same time is more dangerous, especially when alcohol is involved, and that alcohol can hide the effects of other drugs. That combination raises the chance of poor decisions and slower reactions. So mixing drugs with alcohol adds danger rather than cancelling it out, which supports the higher crash risk.
6. Drinking coffee after drinking alcohol:
- Decreases blood alcohol concentration.
- Cancels the effect of the alcohol.
- Has no effect on blood alcohol concentration. ✓
- Increases blood alcohol concentration.
Answer: C. Has no effect on blood alcohol concentration.
Drinking coffee after drinking alcohol has no effect on blood alcohol concentration. The Texas handbook lists drinking black coffee among the common myths about getting sober, alongside cold showers and exercise. It says plainly that these things will not make a person sober. What actually clears alcohol from the body is time, based on body weight, how many drinks were consumed, and food intake, at roughly one hour per drink. Coffee does not remove alcohol from your system, so it does not change your blood alcohol concentration.
7. What might happen when alcohol is combined with another drug?
- The effects of the alcohol and the drug may both be increased. ✓
- Nothing will happen.
- The effects of the alcohol and the drug may both be reduced.
- The effects of only the alcohol may be reduced.
Answer: A. The effects of the alcohol and the drug may both be increased.
8. What does alcohol do to your driving skills and judgement?
- It helps driving skills but harms your judgement.
- It harms both driving skills and judgement. ✓
- It has no effect on either driving skills or judgement.
- It has no effect on judgement but it harms driving skills.
Answer: B. It harms both driving skills and judgement.
Alcohol harms both your driving skills and your judgement. The Texas handbook says that when a person drinks alcohol, one of the first effects is losing judgement, and sight is impaired, which slows reactions and makes it hard to judge another vehicle's speed. It adds that a person's ability to reason can all but disappear. So alcohol works against you on both sides: the mental side (judgement and reasoning) and the physical skills needed to operate the vehicle and react to events. Nothing in the handbook suggests alcohol helps any driving ability.
9. A person's ability to drive can be impaired by:
- Alcohol.
- Any medication.
- A lack of sleep.
- All of the above. ✓
Answer: D. All of the above.
10. Drivers who have consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel:
- Are always aware of the risks they are taking.
- Do not have sufficient control over their bodies and minds or the vehicles being driven. ✓
- Are better drivers because they are more careful than sober drivers.
- Have quicker reaction times.
Answer: B. Do not have sufficient control over their bodies and minds or the vehicles being driven.
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Source
Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook