Alcohol, Drugs, and Impaired Driving
What the exam tests
Impaired-driving questions cover the legal limits, the less-safe standard, implied consent, under-21 rules, and open-container law. Georgia treats DUI as both a per se offense and a driving-behavior offense.
Core rules
- Limits: 0.08% BAC for drivers 21 and older; 0.04% for commercial driver's license holders; 0.02% for drivers under 21. A driver under 21 can be charged at 0.02 or higher.
- Less safe: Georgia can convict a driver whose BAC is below the limit, or who used drugs, prescription medication, or marijuana, if the evidence shows the driver was less safe to drive. A legal prescription is not a defense. Georgia also covers being in actual physical control of a vehicle, not only moving it.
- Implied consent: by driving in Georgia, you consent to a chemical test after a lawful arrest. Refusing can suspend your license for a year on a first refusal, even if you are not convicted of DUI.
- Open container: an open alcoholic beverage in the passenger area is prohibited; keep it in the trunk or a locked compartment.
- First DUI: misdemeanor with jail or community service, a fine, license suspension, and possible ignition interlock.
Worked example
A 20-year-old driver is stopped with a 0.03% BAC. Reasoning: the under-21 threshold is 0.02%, so this is a per se DUI even though it is below 0.08%. If the reading were 0.01%, a DUI less-safe charge could still follow from driving behavior, field observations, or drug evidence. Age changes the limit, not the need for a safe driver.
Traps that cost marks
- Believing one drink or a short nap guarantees sobriety; time and food do not reliably lower BAC quickly.
- Assuming a prescription drug cannot support DUI.
- Treating a test refusal as a way to avoid all consequences; implied-consent suspension is separate.
- Leaving an open container in the glove box or console, which is still the passenger area.