A rider spaces alcoholic drinks an hour apart and plans to ride home. What is wrong with treating that schedule as proof of safety?
Correct answer: Alcohol and impaired abilities may remain despite that schedule.
Alcohol effects vary, and a simple hourly rule does not establish that the rider is unimpaired. Do not turn drink counts or elapsed time into a guaranteed safe-to-ride calculation.
Source: Maryland Motorcycle Operator Manual, DL-001 (10/12); PDF page 44, printed page 35; Blood Alcohol Concentration. ↗
A friend who has been drinking insists on riding away. What is the appropriate response?
Correct answer: Help arrange a safe ride and enlist others to support that plan.
Help keep an impaired person off the motorcycle. Support from other people can make arranging safe transport easier; following behind does not restore the rider’s abilities.
Source: Maryland Motorcycle Operator Manual, DL-001 (10/12); PDF page 46, printed page 37; Step In to Protect Friends. ↗
You have started a new prescription medicine and do not know how it affects you. When should you ride?
Correct answer: Wait until its effects on safe vehicle operation are understood.
NHTSA advises against driving until you know a new medicine’s effect on judgment, coordination and reaction time. Follow its warnings; do not use a traffic ride as the test.
Source: NHTSA, Dangers of Driving After Taking Prescription Drugs or Over-the-Counter Medicines; Antidepressants, opioids, and other prescription drugs may cause impairment. ↗
A medicine warns against operating heavy machinery. Does that warning include riding a motorcycle?
Correct answer: Yes; the warning also applies to operating a motor vehicle.
NHTSA explains that heavy-machinery warnings include vehicle operation. Do not dismiss a warning because the motorcycle is small or the trip is familiar.
Source: NHTSA, Dangers of Driving After Taking Prescription Drugs or Over-the-Counter Medicines; Antidepressants, opioids, and other prescription drugs may cause impairment. ↗
A rider says legally obtained marijuana cannot make a motorcycle trip unsafe. What is the correct response?
Correct answer: Legal availability does not prevent impairment of riding abilities.
The source of a substance does not make impaired riding safe. Marijuana can affect abilities needed to judge traffic and control a motorcycle; arrange other transport when impaired.
Source: NHTSA, Drug-Impaired Driving; Marijuana Impairs and Many Substances Can Impair Driving. ↗
Why is combining alcohol with a medicine that can impair driving especially concerning?
Correct answer: The combination can increase the impairing effects.
Combined effects can be more dangerous than either substance alone. Follow medication warnings and do not assume that familiar effects remain unchanged when alcohol is added.
Source: Maryland Motorcycle Operator Manual, DL-001 (10/12); PDF page 43, printed page 34; Alcohol and Other Drugs in Motorcycle Operation. ↗
