NJ · STUDY GUIDE
DUI, Points & Penalties
DUI limits and penalties, the point system, surcharges, and suspensions — frequently emphasized knowledge-test material. This guide has 47 questions, each citing the NJ manual section it comes from — the first 18 are free to read below.
1 · VIOLATIONS
Altering a driver license or presenting an altered license may result in:
- ✓ Loss of driving privileges, a fine up to $1,000, and/or imprisonment
- · A warning letter
- · A $50 fine only
- · Nothing if you're under 18
Altered licenses risk privileges, up to $1,000, and jail; obtaining a license illegally adds up to $500 and/or imprisonment.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 1 · Digital Driver License, p. 62 · VIOLATIONS
Driving across private property (like a gas station corner) to avoid a traffic signal is:
- ✓ A motor vehicle violation
- · Legal if done slowly
- · Legal outside rush hour
- · Only a parking issue
Cutting the corner through private property to dodge a light or sign is itself a violation (N.J.S.A. 39:4-66.2).
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Intersections, p. 673 · HANDS-FREE LAW
Using a HANDHELD phone while driving in New Jersey is:
- ✓ A primary offense — police can stop you for it alone
- · Legal under 25 mph
- · A secondary offense
- · Legal for calls but not texts
Handheld use and texting are primary offenses. Hands-free is legal (though discouraged) for full-license adults — never for GDL holders.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Cellular Telephones, p. 844 · HANDS-FREE LAW
First-offense fines for handheld phone use while driving are:
- ✓ $200–$400
- · $50–$100
- · $500 flat
- · $25
$200–$400 first, $400–$600 second, $600–$800 plus 3 points from the third offense on — with a possible 90-day suspension. Kulesh's, Kuberts' and Bolis' Law makes illegal phone use recklessness in vehicular homicide cases.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Cellular Telephones, p. 855 · HANDS-FREE LAW
A handheld phone MAY legally be used while driving:
- ✓ In genuine emergencies — fire, crash, road hazard, medical emergency — with one hand kept on the wheel
- · Whenever traffic is stopped
- · For short calls only
- · Never, under any circumstances
The emergency exception is narrow, and you may be asked to prove it with statements or phone records.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 4 · Cellular Telephones, p. 856 · DUI LAWS
In New Jersey, drivers UNDER 21 are violating the law with a BAC of:
- ✓ 0.01% or higher
- · 0.02% or higher
- · 0.08% or higher
- · 0.05% or higher
Just 0.01% for under-21 drivers — one of the strictest standards anywhere. For drivers 21+, the limit is 0.08%.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 6 · How Much is Too Much, p. 1157 · DUI LAWS
At a BAC of 0.15%, your crash risk compared to sober is about:
- ✓ 25 times as great
- · Twice as great
- · Five times as great
- · Unchanged if experienced
Slightly above 0.05% doubles the risk; 0.10% is six times; 0.15% is 25 times.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 6 · How Much is Too Much, p. 1158 · DUI LAWS
Which contains the most alcohol?
- ✓ They're equal — 1.5 oz of 80-proof liquor, 12 oz of beer, and 5 oz of wine each hold about half an ounce of alcohol
- · The shot of liquor
- · The glass of wine
- · The bottle of beer
It's how many drinks, not what you drink. Notably, most people arrested for drinking and driving had been drinking beer.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 6 · How Much is Too Much, p. 1159 · DUI LAWS
The only thing that makes a person sober is:
- ✓ Time
- · Black coffee
- · A cold shower
- · Exercise
About 90% of alcohol is burned by the liver on its own schedule; the rest leaves through breath, urine, and sweat. Eating slows absorption but won't prevent a high BAC.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 6 · Effects of Alcohol, p. 11410 · DUI LAWS
New Jersey's implied consent law means that by driving on state roads, you have agreed to:
- ✓ Submit to a breath test after an arrest for a drinking-driving offense
- · Vehicle searches at any time
- · Automatic license renewal
- · Roadside eye exams
Refusing brings loss of driving privileges until an interlock is installed, IDRC referral, fines, and a $1,000-a-year surcharge for three years.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · Breath Test, p. 12711 · DUI LAWS
An ignition interlock device prevents the vehicle from starting if the driver's BAC exceeds:
- ✓ 0.05%
- · 0.08%
- · 0.01%
- · 0.10%
The built-in breathalyzer locks the ignition above 0.05%. First-offense DUI (under 0.15%) now means an interlock rather than a fixed suspension: 3 months for BAC .08–.10, 7–12 months for .10–.15.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · Ignition Interlock Device, p. 12712 · DUI LAWS
A second DUI within 10 years (for offenses on or after 12/1/19) brings a license loss of:
- ✓ 1–2 years
- · 30 days
- · 6 months
- · 10 years
1–2 years, plus $500–$1,000 fines, 48 hours–90 days imprisonment, 30 days community service, IDRC, and an interlock for 2–4 years after restoration. A third within 10 years: 8 years' loss.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · Mandatory Penalties, p. 12513 · DUI LAWS
Anyone CONVICTED of an alcohol-related traffic offense must satisfy the requirements of:
- ✓ An Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC)
- · A 30-day county jail term
- · A hospital evaluation
- · MVC headquarters
The 12–48 hours of alcohol and highway-safety education plus evaluation is part of the first-DUI sentencing framework; those needing treatment get at least a 16-week program. Satisfactory completion is a condition of relicensing.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, p. 128 — current law14 · DUI LAWS
Carrying an OPEN alcoholic beverage container in the passenger area brings:
- ✓ A $200 fine for a first offense
- · Just a warning
- · License revocation
- · A $1,000 fine
$200 first offense; $250 or 10 days of community service after that. The same rule covers unsealed cannabis items.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · Motor Vehicle Violations, p. 12915 · DUI LAWS
Drinking an alcoholic beverage WHILE driving (below DUI level) costs:
- ✓ $200 for a first offense
- · Nothing if under 0.08%
- · $1,000
- · License loss
$200 first, $250 plus 10 days community service second — separate from, and on top of, any DUI exposure.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · Penalty Chart, p. 12616 · DUI LAWS
A parent convicted of DUI with a child under 18 in the vehicle faces additionally:
- ✓ A disorderly persons offense, up to 6 months' suspension, and up to 5 days of community service
- · Nothing beyond the DUI
- · A $50 fine
- · Loss of the vehicle
Driving impaired with a minor aboard is its own offense stacked on the DUI penalties.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · DUI with a Minor, p. 13317 · SUSPENSIONS
A "habitual offender" in New Jersey is a motorist whose license has been suspended:
- ✓ Three times in three years
- · Twice ever
- · Five times in ten years
- · Once for DUI
Three suspensions in three years. Driving is a privilege, not a right — and the MVC can require re-examination of problem drivers.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · The Driving Privilege, p. 12218 · VIOLATIONS
Tailgating carries ___ points — the same as reckless driving and racing on a highway:
- ✓ 5
- · 2
- · 3
- · 8
Tailgating is a 5-point violation, equal to reckless driving and racing. Improper school bus passing is also 5.
📖 NJ Manual · Ch. 7 · Moving Violation Point Chart, p. 139Tip: use your ← and → arrow keys
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