Be in Shape to Drive: Vision, Fatigue, Distraction, Aggression, Alcohol, Drugs, Emotions and Older Drivers: the 20/40 Standard and Corrective Lens Restriction, Bioptic Lenses, When Vision Is Screened, Sleep and the 100-Mile Rule, Distractions and the Hands-Free Act With Its $100 and $200 Fines, Aggressive Behaviors, Alcohol in 40 Percent of Fatal Crashes, Zero Tolerance Under 21, How Alcohol Reduces Judgment, Vision, Color and Reaction, DUI, DUAC, 0.15 and Implied Consent, Under-21 Suspensions, Over-the-Counter, Prescription and Illegal Drugs, Emotions and the Self-Check for Older Drivers
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the South Carolina beginner's permit knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: South Carolina Driver's Manual (SCDMV, AAMVA-based, March 2026 file), Section 3 "Be in Shape to Drive" (pages 3-1 to 3-12).
Vision
Driving is among the riskiest things you will do, and safe driving depends on health and sound decisions, starting with seeing clearly enough to identify traffic and road conditions and react in time. Have your eyes checked regularly; if you need corrective lenses, always wear them when driving and avoid dark or tinted lenses at night, which cut the light you need. A driver using bioptic telescopic lenses files a low-vision screening form with Driver Improvement every year. The SCDMV screens vision with a branch device or accepts an eye-care professional's examination, which is required if you fail the branch test or choose not to take it; South Carolina professionals file electronically, out-of-state ones use form 412-NC, and since May 18, 2024 standard certificates are valid 36 months. Screening is required for a first permit or license, to remove the corrective-lens restriction code "A", at every renewal, and when surrendering an out-of-state license. The standard requires no better than 20/40 corrected in one eye; if lenses are needed to meet it, a restriction is added and driving without them is unlawful, and if your vision improves you file a new certificate and renew to remove the restriction.
Fatigue
Fatigue from strain, repetition, illness or lack of sleep dulls vision and slows decisions; do not drive tired. Before a trip get adequate sleep (most people need 7 to 9 hours), plan to stop about every 100 miles or 2 hours, bring a companion to watch your driving, check medication labels for drowsiness and avoid alcohol and drugs. If you feel tired, pull off at the next exit or rest area for a 15- to 20-minute nap or stop for the night, avoid late-night driving, and remember rest is the only real cure.
Distractions and the hands-free law
A distraction is anything that takes your attention from driving, whether eyes off the road, hands off the wheel or mind elsewhere. Do not use a cell phone: using a wireless device that requires a hand while driving is unlawful. Avoid arguments and emotional conversations, avoid eating, buckle children properly and secure pets in a carrier or kennel. Under the South Carolina Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Act, a driver on any public road may not physically hold or support a mobile device with any part of the body, read, write or send any text (messages, emails, app interactions, website content), or view moving images such as videos, movies, games or video calls; earpieces and wrist-worn devices for voice calls are allowed. A first offense costs $100; a second or later offense $200 and two points.
Aggressive driving
Aggressive driving is intentionally doing something that endangers people or property: speeding, following too closely, unsafe lane changes, improper or missing signals, and ignoring stop signs, yield signs, signals and railroad crossing signals. Concentrate, and be patient and courteous.
Alcohol, other drugs and driving
Alcohol and impairing drugs figure in about 40 percent of fatal crashes, and even a little raises your crash risk. Under 21 it is illegal to buy, possess or drink alcohol, its effects hit inexperienced drivers harder, and every state has a zero-tolerance rule for drivers under 21. Alcohol and drugs reduce judgment (the brain's store of experience for new problems), vision (blurring, slower focusing, double vision, poorer judgment of distance, speed and movement, affected at 0.02 percent BAC for everyone), color distinction and reaction time. Impairment starts with the first drink, one drink can bring an arrest, and never let a friend or relative drive after drinking.
BAC is the percentage of alcohol in your blood. A conviction for DUI or DUAC (driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration), a BAC of 0.15 percent or more, or refusing implied-consent testing can suspend your license, and you can be convicted of impaired driving at 0.05 or lower when drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, are involved. A driver under 21 with a BAC of 0.02 or more is suspended immediately for at least three months, and one who refuses testing for at least six months. Under the implied consent law, getting a license means you have agreed to a lawfully requested breath, blood or urine test when suspected of impaired driving, refusal can cost your license, and the law of the state where you are arrested applies, not the state that licensed you.
Over-the-counter remedies for headaches, colds, allergies and nerves cause drowsiness, and pep pills, uppers and diet pills bring nervousness, dizziness, poor concentration and vision trouble; read labels and ask a doctor or pharmacist. Prescription drugs can affect reflexes, judgment, vision and alertness like alcohol. A conviction for driving under the influence of illegal drugs is treated like DUI or DUAC. Never mix alcohol with any drug, which can multiply its effects; no one can drink or use impairing drugs and drive safely.
Emotions and older drivers
Extreme emotion interferes with thinking, attention and processing. Give yourself time to cool off with a walk or nap, leave several minutes early, or let someone else drive. Aging can dull hearing and eyesight, slow judgment and dexterity, and leave drivers unaware of new rules. Warning signs worth discussing with a doctor, who may refer you for an SCDMV or professional driving evaluation, include needing several tries to parallel park, trouble telling a hydrant from a child, prolonged discomfort from headlight glare, trouble keeping pace with traffic, slow starts on green, growing numbers of scrapes and dents, missed stop signs and other signs, confusion in unexpected situations, trouble seeing objects a few feet away, trouble judging an approaching vehicle's distance, and difficulty seeing the sides of the road while looking ahead; two or three of these may mean it is time to change your habits or stop driving.
Practise this with South Carolina Driver License questions
More of this guide
License classes D through M and the CDLs, documents, the beginner's permit and its 180-day and 30-day holding periods, the 40 practice hours, the conditional and special restricted licenses and the waiver, the skills test vehicle and maneuvers, retest waits, moving in and out of state, renewal, the point system, the defensive driving course, reinstatement and route-restricted licenses.
Monthly tire pressure and the penny test, sitting 10 inches from the wheel, setting the mirrors, the primary safety belt law, wearing the belt, air bags as supplements, child seats from rear-facing to 57 inches, children seven and younger in back, securing a load, driver assistance features and their limits, hand-to-hand and hand-over-hand steering and backing up.
Who you yield to and the first-car and same-time rules, green, yellow, red and flashing signals and turning on red, warning signs, railroad signs and the blue emergency sign, work zone signs and flaggers, regulatory signs, stop and yield, the shared center lane, guide, route, secondary and evacuation route signs, yellow and white lines, crosswalks and stop lines.
Right and left turn positions, two-point and three-point turnabouts, left-right-left at intersections, never trusting a turn signal, the diverging diamond and the RCUT, roundabouts, when you must stop for a school bus and when you need not, disability spaces, 18 inches from the curb, angle, perpendicular and parallel parking, hills, ramps, passing steps and bans, being passed and the zipper merge.
Looking 20 to 30 seconds ahead, slowing before curves, hydroplaning, flooded roads and the six-inch and two-foot rules, perception, reaction and braking distance, the four-second following distance and when to add more, space to the side and behind, headlights, the horn, signaling 100 feet, braking with ABS, steering and accelerating out of trouble, skids, drop-offs and vehicle malfunctions.
Yielding to pedestrians even outside crosswalks, stopping for white canes and guide dogs, bicyclists' rights, bike lanes and hand signals, a full lane and four seconds for motorcycles, the side, front and rear No Zones, 335 feet to stop a truck, wide right turns, what to do when police stop you, weapons and tickets, the Move-Over law and the orange triangle under 25 mph.
High beams that see twice as far, dimming at 500 feet and within 200 feet, low beams in fog, adding seconds at night, work zone injuries and slowing even with no workers, gravel, narrow roads, single-lane bridges, steel gratings and blind corners, bridges that freeze first, chains, rocking out of snow, ABS versus standard brakes, loading a trailer 60/40, sway, 55 mph and backing a trailer.