Who may not use hand-held electronic devices while riding in B.C.?

All riders, including GLP riders

Only riders on numbered highways

Which helps you stay alert on a long ride?

Taking breaks and walking around

Riding faster so you finish the trip sooner

You plan to drink at a party. What is the best plan?

Leave the bike at home and arrange a ride

Ride home slowly, using quiet back roads

Wait one hour after your last drink, then ride

Ride there and decide later how you feel

Your cold medicine label warns it may cause drowsiness. What should you do?

Ride with extra following distance

BC Class 6 / 8 Motorcycle overview

BC Class 6 / 8 Motorcycle: Fitness, distraction and impairment

Vision and hearing, illness and medication, fatigue, staying focused, B.C.'s electronic device law, dangerous emotions, alcohol and drugs, risk taking, peer pressure and aggression on the road.

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Fitness, distraction and impairment · Question 1Score 0/0

About how much of what is happening around them do drivers on a phone miss visually?

Tip: press 1–4 to answer and Enter for the next question.

Study reference: Learn to Ride Smart (ICBC, March 2026 edition), Ch. 8 Personal strategies — Fitness to ride, cellphones, dangerous emotions, impairment, taking risks, peer pressure, aggression, pp. 111–126

All 16 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

About how much of what is happening around them do drivers on a phone miss visually?
1. About 10 per cent
2. About 90 per cent
3. About 25 per cent
4. About 50 per cent
Who may not use hand-held electronic devices while riding in B.C.?
1. Only riders in the GLP program
2. All riders, including GLP riders
3. Only riders on numbered highways
4. Only riders under 19 years old
Which helps you stay alert on a long ride?
1. Taking breaks and walking around
2. Drinking strong coffee
3. Eating a large meal
4. Riding faster so you finish the trip sooner
You plan to drink at a party. What is the best plan?
1. Ride home slowly, using quiet back roads
2. Wait one hour after your last drink, then ride
3. Ride there and decide later how you feel
4. Leave the bike at home and arrange a ride
Your cold medicine label warns it may cause drowsiness. What should you do?
1. Don't ride
2. Drink coffee and ride
3. Ride with extra following distance
4. Ride only on side streets
Your licence requires corrective lenses and you forgot your glasses. What could happen if you ride?
1. You could be fined
2. Only a warning is possible
3. Nothing if the trip is short
4. Your licence becomes Class 8
An aggressive driver tailgates and flashes high beams at night. What should you do?
1. Ride straight home as fast as you can
2. Brake suddenly to teach them a lesson
3. Gesture back at them so they will stop
4. Give them room; avoid eye contact or gestures
According to the guide, about how long does it take to get from a BAC of .08 back to zero?
1. About one hour
2. About 12 hours
3. About three hours
4. About six hours
A driver cuts you off and you feel angry. What does the guide suggest?
1. Pass them and then brake suddenly in front
2. Stay patient; pull over to calm down if needed
3. Follow the driver for a while to show how angry you are
4. Stare them down when you stop at the light
About how much of your riding information comes through your eyes?
1. About 30 per cent
2. About 50 per cent
3. About 95 per cent
4. About 80 per cent
How does a glass of beer compare to a glass of wine or an average cocktail?
1. They contain about the same alcohol
2. Beer has much more alcohol in it
3. Beer has much less alcohol in it
4. Beer doesn't affect riding at all, in any amount
Your more experienced friends take curves faster than you want. What should you do?
1. Ride at your own safe speed and meet them later
2. Ask them to ride side by side with you
3. Take a shortcut so you can catch up later
4. Keep up with them so you don't fall behind
You are stopped at a red light. May you check a text on a hand-held phone?
1. Yes, while fully stopped
2. Yes, if the engine is off
3. Only for under 10 seconds
4. No; you are still driving
What does the law allow a Class 8L or 8N rider to do with a phone while riding?
1. Use GPS voice directions on the go
2. Use a hands-free headset for calls
3. Call 9-1-1 to report an emergency
4. Send short texts using voice commands
What lowers your blood alcohol level?
1. Only time
2. A cold shower
3. Eating a big meal
4. Black coffee
Why is mixing even a small amount of alcohol with drugs dangerous?
1. It can greatly increase impairment
2. The drugs cancel the alcohol
3. It only affects passengers
4. It only matters for prescription drugs

Fitness, distraction and impairment: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Fitness to ride, pp. 111–114

About 80% of riding information comes through the eyes.
If your licence requires corrective lenses, you can be fined for riding without them.
Listen for horns, sirens, train whistles and odd noises from the motorcycle; hearing protection is a good idea, at a level that still lets you hear critical sounds.
Wear a faceshield or goggles, especially with contact lenses; keep headset volume reasonable and the exhaust not so loud it masks sounds.
Even a mild cold or flu can reduce alertness; consider the bus or a ride.
If a medication label warns of drowsiness or dizziness, don't ride; ask a doctor or pharmacist about conditions that may affect riding.
Fatigue is a leading cause of crashes; it affects seeing, thinking and reaction time.
Start rested, don't plan too much distance for one day, take breaks with some exercise, avoid heavy meals; coffee, cola and other stimulants don't make you more alert.
Being cold reduces focus; wear the right gear, and pull over to deal with a distraction.
Tell a chatty passenger you need to concentrate.

Cellphones and electronic devices, pp. 114–115

All B.C. riders, including GLP riders, may not use hand-held electronic devices while riding: no operating, viewing or holding a phone, no texting or email, no hand-held music or gaming devices, no manual GPS programming.
The law applies whenever you are in control of the motorcycle, including stopped at a light or in stop-and-go traffic.
GLP (learner and novice) riders may not use any personal electronic device, hands-free included, except to call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
A GLP rider's driving record is reviewed after one distracted-driving ticket and a prohibition may follow.
A driver talking on a phone misses about half of what is happening around them visually.
Distracted drivers are the leading contributing factor in multi-vehicle crashes involving motorcycles.
Safer choices: let calls go to voicemail, make text stops at rest areas, pull over safely for a hands-free call.

Emotions, risk and peer pressure, pp. 115–122

Anger, anxiety or sadness make you less alert and your thinking less clear; sometimes the right choice is not to ride.
Stay calm by planning routes around heavy traffic, leaving plenty of time, being patient and courteous, and pulling over to settle down.
Both under-confident and over-confident riders need more learning and practice; thrill seekers speed, tailgate and pass unsafely.
Resisting negative peer pressure: identify the problem, think about the consequences, find alternatives, then follow through putting safety first; e.g. ride at your own safe speed and meet friends later.
Positive peer pressure is friends persuading you to do the right thing.

Impairment, pp. 117–119

Even a small amount of alcohol affects decision-making and coordination.
Alcohol effects: staring, glare blindness, double vision, poor depth perception and peripheral vision, unclear reasoning while feeling sharp, more impulsiveness, slower reactions, poor steering and braking, and poorer balance, especially at slow speed.
Only time lowers blood alcohol; food, coffee, cold showers and exercise don't speed it up.
At a BAC of .08 it takes about six hours to get back to zero (Transport Canada figure cited in the guide).
A glass of beer has about as much alcohol as a glass of wine or an average cocktail.
A common fatal motorcycle crash: a rider who has been drinking can't make a curve, runs off the road and hits an object, often late on a weekend night.
Over-the-counter allergy, cough, cold and nausea medicines can cause drowsiness and inattention; sedatives, tranquilizers, painkillers and some antidepressants can affect alertness, concentration and reaction time for many hours.
Ask about the combined effects of more than one medication.
Street drugs can cause hallucinations, altered perception, feelings of invincibility and poor judgment; marijuana can make it hard to track moving vehicles and pedestrians and can delay emergency responses.
Many drugs are far more impairing combined with even a little alcohol; one study found drivers combining alcohol and drugs nine times more likely to crash.
If you plan to drink, leave the motorcycle at home; if impaired, secure the bike and take a taxi or bus; refuse to ride with an impaired rider.
Drinking and riding can mean injury or death, jail, losing your licence, large fines, impoundment, and insurance that may not cover what you cause.

Aggression on the road, pp. 124–126

With an aggressive driver: give room and the right-of-way, never respond aggressively, avoid eye contact and gestures, stay calm.
If you feel threatened, ride to a busy public place such as a mall or police station; don't go home if followed.
Prevent aggression: don't park in disability spaces, don't use turn lanes or shoulders to jump queues, don't split lanes, don't race the engine, follow at a generous distance, move over for merging traffic, pull over if you are holding up traffic, don't block passing lanes, signal early, don't overuse the horn.

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