Tennessee DUI law — Tennessee Permit Test

Tennessee DUI law on the Tennessee permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

In Tennessee it is unlawful to drive or be in physical control of a vehicle while under the influence, on public roads and also on the premises of places like shopping centers and apartment complexes.

A parking lot is full of walkers and children. The DUI law follows you there, not just onto the highway.

In Tennessee, it is unlawful for any person to drive or be in physical control of an automobile or other motor-driven vehicle on any public street, highway, road or alley, or while on the premises of any shopping center, trailer park, apartment house complex, or any place frequented by the public while:

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.81

It is DUI in Tennessee to drive while the alcohol concentration of your blood or breath is .08 percent or higher.

At .08 a driver reacts too slowly to stop for a child in the road. The law draws its line there for every adult.

While the alcohol concentration of the operator’s blood or breath is .08 percent or higher.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.81

A driver can register a BAC of .00 percent and still be convicted of DUI, for example when drugs impair the driving.

A breath test only finds alcohol. A driver high on pills can blow zero and still be weaving across the road.

A driver can register a BAC of .00 percent and still be convicted of a DUI.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.81

Erratic driving or an inappropriate speed, too fast or too slow, is enough cause for an officer to stop a vehicle to investigate.

Drunk drivers often creep along well under the limit, thinking it looks careful. To an officer it looks like a clue.

If a law enforcement officer observes things, such as erratic driving behavior, or maintaining an inappropriate speed (too fast or too slow), it would be sufficient cause for stopping the vehicle to investigate.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.81

On the test

Besides public roads, where else does Tennessee's DUI law apply?

Shopping center parking lots. A parking lot is full of walkers and children. The DUI law follows you there, not just onto the highway. Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.81: “In Tennessee, it is unlawful for any person to drive or be in physical control of an automobile or other motor-driven vehicle on any public street, highway, road or alley, or while on the premises of any shopping center, trailer park, apartment house complex, or any place frequented by the public while:”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

  • One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
  • Free to start: a 10-question test and the first section of cards. No sign-up and no account.
  • Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
  • Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
  • Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

All Tennessee permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, published by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-03.