The answer options
- Encourage them to drive
- Wait some time and then drive
- Have some water then drive home
- Use public transport to get homeCorrect
Why the other options are wrong
- “Encourage them to drive” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which use public transport to get home does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
- “Wait some time and then drive” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which use public transport to get home does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
- “Have some water then drive home” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which use public transport to get home does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
Why that is the answer
The only safe option after drinking alcohol is to use public transport, book a taxi, or get a lift from a sober driver. Alcohol severely impairs your judgement, coordination, and reaction times. Drinking water, drinking coffee, or simply waiting a short time will not remove alcohol from your bloodstream quickly enough to make you safe or legal to drive. Official guidance states that the safest choice is never to drink and drive.
What hazard awareness covers
- · Static, moving and developing hazards and how they differ
- · Scanning, mirror use and planning your response early
- · Effects of tiredness, alcohol, drugs and prescription medicine
- · Weather, light and road-surface conditions that reduce your margin
Mistakes learners repeat on this topic
- · Choosing the reactive answer (brake hard) over the planning answer (ease off early)
- · Underestimating how long alcohol stays in the system overnight
- · Assuming a prescribed medicine cannot affect your fitness to drive
- · Treating a hazard as cleared before you have passed it
Instructor tip: If two answers both work, pick the one that acts earliest — the DVSA marks anticipation, not recovery.
How this comes up in the real test
Questions from hazard awareness appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.
The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.
More hazard awareness questions
- A friend has given you some cough medicine. You take some and wish to drive your car, what should you do first?
- A motorcyclist has just overtaken you. What should you do if the motorcyclist sharply cuts in front of you?
- A police officer is making this signal to oncoming traffic. What does this mean?
- Before taking any medicine you should always check the leaflet. Why is this?
- Certain two-way streets have three lanes on them. Why do they pose a special risk?
- Do you need to plan rest stops when you’re planning a long journey?