Alcohol and drugs
You are 35, not on DUI probation, and drive for a ride service, carrying a passenger who pays for the trip. At what blood alcohol concentration (BAC) does it become illegal for you to drive?
- 0.04% or higher. Correct answer
- 0.08% or higher.
- 0.01% or higher.
Why
California sets a stricter limit for anyone driving a passenger for hire: 0.04%, half the general adult limit. The same 0.04% applies when the vehicle needs a commercial driver's license. The 0.08% figure is the limit for drivers over 21 in ordinary driving, so it stops being yours while a paying passenger is aboard. The 0.01% limit is for drivers under 21 and for anyone on DUI probation. Staying under a limit is no guarantee either: depending on how impaired you are, you can be arrested and convicted of DUI with no BAC reading at all.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is 0.04% or higher.
The rule behind this one
California alcohol and drug rules for drivers goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on alcohol and drugs
- Can you be convicted of DUI if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was never measured?
- In the handbook's BAC table, one drink means 12 ounces of 5% beer. How much 12% wine counts as one drink?
- Your BAC is 0.10%. According to the handbook's glossary, what does that number mean?
- You are taking a jet ski out on a lake. What does California law say about drinking alcohol while you operate it?