FullVA · STUDY GUIDE
DUI, Demerits & Penalties
Virginia's DUI law, reckless-driving thresholds, the demerit system's 3s, 4s and 6s, and current insurance law. This guide has 24 questions, each citing the VA manual section it comes from — the first 18 are free to read below.
1 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Can legally prescribed or over-the-counter medication impair driving?
- ✓ Yes
- · No, legal drugs never impair
- · Only after midnight
- · Only for drivers under 21
Legal medications can affect vision, reaction time, alertness, or judgment.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Impaired driving, p. 252 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Alcohol and other impairing drugs commonly affect reaction time by:
- ✓ Slowing the ability to process information and respond
- · Making responses faster
- · Eliminating fatigue
- · Improving distance judgment
Impairing substances slow information processing and response.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Impaired driving, p. 243 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Alcohol and drugs can reduce a driver's ability to:
- ✓ Perceive surroundings and make quick decisions
- · See through fog
- · Increase tire grip
- · Shorten braking distance
Impairment harms judgment as well as vision and reaction time.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Impaired driving, p. 244 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Before driving after taking an over-the-counter drug, you should:
- ✓ Read the warning label or ask a doctor or pharmacist about side effects
- · Assume it cannot impair driving
- · Double the dose
- · Mix it with alcohol
Legal over-the-counter drugs can still reduce safe-driving ability.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Impaired driving, p. 255 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Why should alcohol never be combined with other impairing drugs?
- ✓ The drugs may increase alcohol's effects or add effects of their own
- · The combination always improves alertness
- · It prevents a BAC reading
- · It shortens reaction time
Combining substances can magnify impairment unpredictably.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Impaired driving, p. 256 · DEMERIT POINTS
How many demerit points may DMV assign for a single conviction?
- ✓ Three, four or six
- · One, two or three
- · Five, ten or fifteen
- · Always exactly two
DMV assigns three, four or six demerit points per conviction and tracks your totals over 12- and 24-month periods.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Driver Improvement Program, p. 297 · DEMERIT POINTS
A driver age 18 or older must complete a driver improvement clinic after accumulating how many demerit points in 12 months?
- ✓ 12 points
- · 6 points
- · 8 points
- · 24 points
Twelve demerit points in 12 months (or 18 in 24 months) triggers a required clinic; not completing it within 90 days brings a suspension.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Driver Improvement Program, p. 298 · DEMERIT POINTS
What happens if you receive 18 demerit points within 12 months?
- ✓ DMV suspends your driving privilege for 90 days and requires a driver improvement clinic
- · DMV mails a warning letter only
- · Your license is revoked permanently
- · Nothing happens until you reach 30 points
Eighteen points in 12 months, or 24 points in 24 months, means a 90-day suspension plus a driver improvement clinic.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Driver Improvement Program, p. 299 · INSURANCE
What minimum liability coverage must a Virginia policy provide for policies effective on or after January 1, 2025?
- ✓ $50,000 per person, $100,000 for two or more people, $25,000 property damage
- · $30,000 per person, $60,000 for two or more people, $20,000 property damage
- · $25,000 per person, $50,000 for two or more people, $20,000 property damage
- · $100,000 per person, $300,000 for two or more people, $50,000 property damage
Virginia's minimums rose to 50/100/25 for policies effective on or after January 1, 2025; policies written 2022-2024 carried 30/60/20. The April 2026 manual's table still stops at the 2022 tier.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Insurance requirements, p. 34 (superseded by Code of Virginia § 46.2-472)10 · INSURANCE
Under current Virginia law, what must you certify to register a motor vehicle?
- ✓ That the vehicle is insured - paying a fee to register without insurance is no longer allowed
- · That you paid the $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee
- · That the vehicle passed an emissions test in every county
- · That you own the vehicle outright with no loan
Current law makes liability insurance mandatory to register a vehicle; the old $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee has been repealed, and a lapse in coverage brings a $600 noncompliance fee. The April 2026 manual still describes the old fee.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Insurance requirements, p. 34 (superseded by Code of Virginia § 46.2-706)11 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Under Virginia's implied consent law, what have you agreed to by driving on public roads?
- ✓ To take a breath test when an officer requests one
- · To let an officer search your vehicle at any time
- · To waive your right to a trial in a DUI case
- · To carry a portable breath testing device
Operating on Virginia's public roads means you have already consented to a breath test on request; refusing carries its own penalty.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Alcohol and the law, p. 3012 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
How long is the automatic administrative suspension for a first DUI offense or breath-test refusal?
- ✓ Seven days
- · 24 hours
- · 30 days
- · One year
A first offense brings an automatic seven-day suspension; a second brings 60 days or until trial, and a third lasts until trial.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Administrative License Suspension, p. 3013 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Twelve ounces of beer contains about the same alcohol as:
- ✓ A shot of liquor or a five-ounce glass of wine
- · Three shots of liquor
- · A twelve-ounce glass of wine
- · Half a shot of liquor
One standard drink is one standard drink - 12 ounces of beer, a shot of liquor and a five-ounce glass of wine are equivalent.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Drunk and drugged driving, p. 2414 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
What actually reduces intoxication after drinking?
- ✓ Only time
- · Drinking coffee
- · Taking a cold shower
- · Vigorous exercise
Coffee, cold showers and exercise do not sober you up - only the passage of time lowers your BAC.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Drunk and drugged driving, p. 2415 · IMPAIRED DRIVING
Possessing marijuana is legal in Virginia over age 21. What about driving after using it?
- ✓ Driving under the influence of marijuana is still illegal
- · It is legal as long as you are over 21
- · It is legal if you stay below the posted speed limit
- · It is legal on non-interstate roads
Legal possession is not legal driving - smoking or consuming cannabis affects how you drive and driving under its influence remains illegal.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Drunk and drugged driving, p. 2516 · DISTRACTED DRIVING
When may a Virginia driver use a handheld cellphone while driving?
- ✓ Only for a driver emergency or while lawfully parked or stopped
- · Whenever using speakerphone
- · At every red light
- · On roads below 35 mph
Virginia prohibits handheld use while driving, with narrow emergency/stopped exceptions.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Distracted driving, p. 2417 · DISTRACTED DRIVING
For the Virginia knowledge test, when may a Virginia driver use a handheld cellphone while driving?
- ✓ Only for a driver emergency or while lawfully parked or stopped
- · Whenever using speakerphone
- · At every red light
- · On roads below 35 mph
Virginia prohibits handheld use while driving, with narrow emergency/stopped exceptions.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Distracted driving, p. 2418 · DISTRACTED DRIVING
According to the Virginia driver manual, when may a Virginia driver use a handheld cellphone while driving?
- ✓ Only for a driver emergency or while lawfully parked or stopped
- · Whenever using speakerphone
- · At every red light
- · On roads below 35 mph
Virginia prohibits handheld use while driving, with narrow emergency/stopped exceptions.
📖 VA Manual · Virginia Driver's Manual April 2026 - Distracted driving, p. 24Tip: use your ← and → arrow keys
FullPass is an independent study aid. Questions are reviewed against the cited official VA driver's manual; the state licensing agency remains the final authority.