Over the counter drugs — South Dakota Permit Test

Over the counter drugs on the South Dakota permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Over-the-counter drugs for headaches, colds, hay fever or allergies, or to calm nerves, can make you drowsy and affect your driving.

A cold pill taken before work can leave you half asleep at the wheel by the first stoplight.

Over-the-counter drugs taken for headaches, colds, hay fever, or other allergies or those to calm nerves can make you drowsy and affect your driving.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.21

Pep pills, uppers and diet pills can make you nervous, dizzy and unable to concentrate, and they can affect your vision.

A driver jittery and dizzy from diet pills cannot hold a lane or read the road well.

Pep pills, “uppers,” and diet pills can make you feel nervous, dizzy, unable to concentrate, and they can affect your vision.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.21

Check the label for warnings before taking a drug, and if unsure whether it is safe to drive, ask your doctor or pharmacist about side effects.

A warning you never read can mean falling asleep on the highway an hour after a dose.

If unsure whether it is safe to take the drug and drive, ask your doctor or pharmacist about any side effects.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.21

On the test

What can over-the-counter cold and allergy drugs do to a driver?

Make you drowsy and affect driving. A cold pill taken before work can leave you half asleep at the wheel by the first stoplight. South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.21: “Over-the-counter drugs taken for headaches, colds, hay fever, or other allergies or those to calm nerves can make you drowsy and affect your driving.”

How this works

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against South Dakota Driver License Manual, published by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.