Alcohol and drugs
Today closes the block with the heaviest criminal penalties: legal alcohol limits (0.25 mg/l general · 0.15 mg/l novice and professional), zero tolerance for drugs, test refusal = criminal offence. We also review physiological effects: alcohol as a depressant, drugs as stimulants, slower reaction time.
Alcohol and drugs: organise the points to revise
Start by separating alcohol limits from drug rules and questions about refusing a test. The figures covered here are 0.25 mg/l for the general limit and 0.15 mg/l for novice and professional drivers. The session also covers zero tolerance for drugs and refusal to take the test as a criminal offence.
Give the effects on the body some attention as well, including slower reaction time. When you check an explanation, identify whether you were unsure about a limit, an effect or test refusal. That makes the review more useful than simply memorising the figures. After working through your mistakes, the alcohol and drugs test below lets you continue practising this topic.
Before you begin or try again
- Read the explanation for every missed answer and check which part of your reasoning needs another look before moving on.
- Take your time over the wording and the answer choices; give yourself room to understand the question before answering.
- Only repeat the session after reviewing your mistakes, returning to the explanations whenever a point still feels unclear to you.
After reviewing this session
What the syllabus says about alcohol and drugs
The risk factors lesson explains that the rules do not punish only obvious intoxication: exceeding the regulated limits, or driving with drugs present in the body, is also penalised. Novice drivers during their first two years, and certain professional transport, have stricter alcohol limits, which in this practice are 0.15 mg/l against 0.25 mg/l for everyone else.
Another recurring point is false confidence: alcohol reduces attention, reflexes, vision and judgement even when you feel capable. The lesson also covers medication and physical state: if a drug reduces reflexes or attention, read the leaflet and avoid driving where appropriate. Tiredness, illness or lack of rest count the same. And distrust cures for sleepiness such as music, fresh air or willpower.
The lesson warns about two typical mistakes: reducing risk to alcohol alone and forgetting medication, tiredness or distraction, and handling the navigation system while driving because it seems brief. The safe answer is to set up your phone, navigation and belongings before leaving and to stop if you must touch something.