Challenge
'No sticker, so no problem' is exactly the shortcut the CBR exam designer tests. The sticker is a pharmacist-practice signal, not an exhaustive legal list — the law itself asks something different: did you know, or ought you to have known, that the substance could impair your driving ability?
Read this section on its own page: Challenge: Medicines, drugs and the yellow sticker
The model
Prohibited: driving while you know or ought to know that a substance can impair your driving ability (the law) — medicine or drug makes no difference. On the packaging of many traffic-hazardous medicines a yellow sticker or pictogram appears (Book p.16) that makes this visible — but the sticker is the signal, not the law itself.
Read this section on its own page: The model: Medicines, drugs and the yellow sticker
Core
The law prohibits driving under the influence of any substance you know or reasonably ought to know impairs your driving ability — that applies to prescribed medicines just as much as to illegal drugs. For AMvB-designated drugs, fixed blood limits also apply: above that limit you are punishable, regardless of how you feel. The yellow sticker or pictogram on the packaging (Book p.16) makes that standard concretely visible, but is not itself a legal threshold — a box without a sticker can still fall under the law, and a sticker is no guarantee the law requires nothing else. A fact the law itself does not state but the book does: some medicines remain active in your body for up to 48 hours, even if you only used them once. Do you combine drugs with alcohol, or several designated substances with each other? Then the normal limit no longer applies per substance — instead it is the lowest measurable amount, in practice a zero-limit. And as with alcohol, a duty to cooperate applies here too: on reasonable suspicion the police can order a blood test which you are obliged to cooperate with. The penalties are not symbolic: the book states a fine of up to €25,750 or imprisonment of up to 1 year, with the driving privilege withdrawn for up to 5 years.
Read this section on its own page: Core: Medicines, drugs and the yellow sticker
Why it matters
Anyone who relies on the sticker instead of the standard itself misses exactly the boxes without a sticker that still affect driving ability — and underestimates how long a single pill can keep working. On the way from Deventer to work it makes no difference whether the substance came legally from the pharmacy or not: the law asks about the effect, not the origin.
Read this section on its own page: Why it matters: Medicines, drugs and the yellow sticker
Active recall
In Deventer you pick up a new sleeping medicine from the pharmacy. No yellow sticker visible, but the package insert lists drowsiness as a side effect. You use the medicine once, in the evening. The next morning at eight you drive to work. What applies?
Read this section on its own page: Active recall: Medicines, drugs and the yellow sticker
Source: WVW 1994 art. 8 · WVW 1994 art. 163 · checked 2026-10-22
Frequently asked questions
‘If there is no yellow sticker on the packaging, you may drive without any restriction on that medicine’ – is that true?
No. The standard is 'knows or ought to know that use can impair driving ability', not 'has a sticker'. The sticker makes that standard visible but is not a requirement for liability
‘A medicine you take only once is completely out of your system again after a few hours’ – is that true?
No. Some medicines remain active in the body for up to 48 hours, even after a single use. 'Taken once' says nothing about how long driving ability stays affected
‘The legal rules on driving under the influence of drugs only concern illegal drugs, not prescribed medicines’ – is that true?
No. The law explicitly names any substance you know or ought to know can impair driving ability — that includes prescribed medicines just as much as illegal drugs, exactly why the yellow sticker appears on legal, pharmacy-obtained medication
‘If you combine alcohol and drugs, the normal limit for each substance simply applies separately, just like with single use’ – is that true?
No. For combined use, each substance's limit becomes the lowest measurable amount: a zero-limit, lower than for single use
‘Combined use of drugs and alcohol is only punishable if at least one of the substances exceeds its own normal limit’ – is that true?
No. For combined use, a violation already occurs at the lowest measurable amount per substance; no substance needs to exceed its normal limit