California practice test, alcohol, drugs, and penalties
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The alcohol shelf is where California's numbers stack up: 0.08 percent as the per se limit, 0.04 for commercial drivers, 0.01 for drivers under 21, and the separate 0.05 infraction that also applies under 21. Add implied consent, open container and drinking-in-vehicle rules, ignition interlock, and what a prior conviction does to the next one. Phone offences ride in this set too, including the mounted-device, single-tap rule and the total ban for drivers under 18.
Each topic set draws up to 20 questions from that topic in the California bank and grades against our practice target of 80 percent. The target is our study goal, not the DMV's pass mark.
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Up to 20 questions from this topic, drawn fresh each run from 55 checked questions. Graded against our practice target of 80 percent, our study goal, not the state's pass mark. There's no signup and nothing to pay.
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Five sample questions, answers hidden until you tap
A 19-year-old drives friends home; a friend's unopened six-pack is in the boot at the friend's request. Is the young driver in danger under the alcohol-in-vehicle rules?
✓ Correct answer: Yes; a driver under 21 may not knowingly drive a vehicle carrying alcohol outside narrow exceptions such as employment or a parent's direction, even unopened
Section 23224 is stricter than the container rules and catches new drivers out: it is about carriage, not opening. Doing a friend a favour is not among its exceptions, and the offence carries licence consequences. California Vehicle Code section 23224.
California Vehicle Code section 23224
A driver gets a second conviction for holding a phone while driving, two years after the first. What extra consequence does the second one carry?
✓ Correct answer: A point is added to the driver's record for a repeat handheld-device offence within 36 months
The first handheld-device offence is priced as a fine; the repeat is priced in the currency that matters, points, which puts the driver on the road to negligent operator treatment. The window is 36 months, and the point is imposed by section 12810.3, not section 12810. California Vehicle Code sections 23123.5 and 12810.3.
California Vehicle Code sections 23123.5 and 12810.3
Which situation fits an exception to the rule that a driver under 21 may not carry alcohol in a vehicle?
✓ Correct answer: Carrying it in the course of employment, or following a parent's or guardian's instruction, within the section's terms
The exceptions in section 23224 are about responsibility: a job that involves delivery, or a parent directing the errand. Social favours are the case the section is aimed at, not an exception to it. California Vehicle Code section 23224.
California Vehicle Code section 23224
A truck driver finishes a shift, parks the rig, and drives a private car home at 0.05. Which limit governs the car trip?
✓ Correct answer: The ordinary adult framework: 0.08 per se, with impairment chargeable below it; the 0.04 figure applies while driving a commercial vehicle
Subdivision (d) is written around the act, driving a commercial motor vehicle, not around the person's licence class. Off duty in a car, the driver is an ordinary motorist in law, which still leaves 0.05 chargeable if it impairs. California Vehicle Code section 23152.
California Vehicle Code section 23152
Report a wrong answer. Reports are checked against the cited source within two working days, and a right report is fixed in the open, with the date on this page.
Facts strip
- Pass mark
- 80%, as the DMV publishes it
- Our simulators grade on
- Miss allowances: 30 of 36 (adult), 38 of 46 (under 18)
- Questions on the real test
- The DMV publishes no current count
- Time limit
- None published by the DMV
- Application fee
- $46, covers 3 attempts in 12 months
- Retest wait, under 18
- 7 days. No published wait for adults
Facts checked against California DMV pages, 2026-11-03. Official information: California Department of Motor Vehicles, dmv.ca.gov.
Corrections note
No corrections yet. Last checked 2026-11-03, against the California Vehicle Code and DMV published facts.