DKT - Driver Knowledge Test Car Driver Knowledge Test – Alcohol and Drugs 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: How does alcohol affect your ability to drive?
- It improves your reaction time and confidence
- It slows your reaction time and impairs your judgment (Correct answer)
- It only affects you if your BAC is above 0.10
- It has no effect if you feel sober
Correct answer: It slows your reaction time and impairs your judgment
Alcohol impairs the brain functions needed for safe driving — reaction time slows, judgment deteriorates, and coordination is reduced — even before a driver feels obviously drunk.
Question 2: In NSW, roadside oral fluid (drug) testing detects the presence of:
- Alcohol and cannabis only
- All illegal and prescription drugs
- Cannabis, methamphetamine (speed/ice), and MDMA (ecstasy) (Correct answer)
- Only methamphetamine and heroin
Correct answer: Cannabis, methamphetamine (speed/ice), and MDMA (ecstasy)
NSW Police use oral fluid swabs to test for three specific drug types at the roadside: cannabis (THC), methamphetamine, and MDMA. A positive result leads to a laboratory confirmation test.
Question 3: A full licence holder in NSW records a BAC of 0.07. Which offence category does this fall into?
- No offence — still within the legal limit of 0.05
- Low range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) (Correct answer)
- Mid range PCA
- High range PCA
Correct answer: Low range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA)
A BAC of 0.05–0.079 is classified as a Low Range PCA offence in NSW. The legal limit is under 0.05, so 0.07 is above the limit and carries licence suspension, a fine, and demerit points.
Question 4: Which of the following factors does NOT affect how quickly alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream?
- Whether you have eaten recently
- Your body weight
- The colour of your eyes (Correct answer)
- Your gender
Correct answer: The colour of your eyes
Eye colour has no effect on alcohol absorption. Food in the stomach slows absorption, lower body weight means a higher BAC for the same amount, and women typically absorb alcohol faster than men due to body composition differences.
Question 5: Driving after combining cannabis with alcohol, compared to using either substance alone, will:
- Have the same level of impairment as either substance alone
- Reduce the impairing effects because they cancel each other out
- Only be illegal if your BAC is above 0.05
- Significantly increase your crash risk beyond either substance alone (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Significantly increase your crash risk beyond either substance alone
Cannabis and alcohol together produce a combined (synergistic) impairing effect that is significantly greater than either drug on its own, dramatically increasing the risk of a serious crash.
Question 6: If you refuse to submit to a random breath test (RBT) when directed by NSW Police, you:
- Cannot be penalised — refusal is a legal right
- Are issued a formal caution for a first offence only
- Face the same penalties as a high range drink-driving offence (Correct answer)
- Must be offered a blood test as an alternative with no penalty for refusal
Correct answer: Face the same penalties as a high range drink-driving offence
Under NSW law, refusing a breath test is treated as seriously as recording a high range BAC (0.15 or above). The penalties include immediate licence suspension, heavy fines, and a mandatory interlock period.
DKT - Driver Knowledge Test Car Driver Knowledge Test – Alcohol and Drugs 1
How does alcohol affect your ability to drive?