When does a 30 km/h playground zone limit apply in B.C.?
BC Class 1–4 overview
BC Class 1–4: Dangerous goods and signs for commercial drivers
Dangerous goods training and documents, reporting spills, placard classes, CANUTEC, runaway lanes, low clearance, transit priority and zone signs.
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- Every answer explained
- Independent · not a government site
- 11 questions
- Topic drill
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Study reference: Driving Commercial Vehicles (ICBC, 2024 edition), Ch. 5, 11 and 13 Dangerous goods, signs and emergencies — Transporting dangerous goods, Signs, signals and road markings, In case of an emergency
All 11 questions in this test
Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.
When does a 30 km/h playground zone limit apply in B.C.?
- Only when children are visible
- Weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- School days, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Every day from dawn to dusk
Who must certify a driver's dangerous goods training?
- ICBC
- The shipper
- The current employer
- Any driving school
For a Class 6.2 infectious substance spill, whom should you call for technical advice?
- The nearest hospital
- WorkSafeBC
- ICBC claims
- CANUTEC
Which class is shown on a corrosives placard?
- Class 5.1
- Class 2.2
- Class 8
- Class 6.2
What does a diamond-shaped low-clearance sign tell you?
- The width of the bridge ahead
- The maximum load weight allowed on the bridge
- The speed limit for trucks
- The height of a structure ahead
Where must dangerous goods shipping documents be kept during a trip?
- At the carrier's office
- In the sleeper compartment only
- Locked in the trailer
- Readily available in the cab
What is a runaway lane for?
- Stopping a truck whose brakes have failed
- Checking brakes before a hill
- Letting slow trucks be passed on long hills
- Parking overnight on a mountain pass
May a vehicle carrying dangerous goods be used for an ICBC road test?
- Yes, if it is placarded
- Yes, for Class 1 only
- No
- Yes, with the shipper's consent
Your load of dangerous goods starts leaking. Whom do you call first?
- The consignee at delivery
- Police or the Provincial Emergency Program
- The vehicle's insurer
- Your employer's dispatcher, then the shipper
What does a Class 4.3 placard mean?
- Radioactive material
- Flammable liquid
- Toxic gas
- Dangerous when wet
What does a steady white rectangular transit priority light mean?
- Only buses may go
- Trucks must stop
- All traffic may turn right
- Pedestrians may cross
Dangerous goods and signs for commercial drivers: 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 ↗
Transporting dangerous goods (p. 110–111)
- Anyone handling dangerous goods has significant legal duties and must be properly trained and certified.
- Your current employer must certify your dangerous goods training; carry the training certificate whenever you transport dangerous goods.
- Shipping documents must be complete, correct, readily available in the cab and travel with the shipment.
- Report any incident (spill, leak, fire, explosion, damaged container) immediately to the nearest police or the Provincial Emergency Program at 1-800-663-3456.
- There are nine classes: explosives, gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidizing substances and organic peroxides, poisonous (toxic) and infectious substances, radioactive materials, corrosives, and miscellaneous products.
- Placard examples: Class 1 explosives; 2.1 flammable gas; 2.2 compressed gas; 2.3 toxic gas; 3 flammable liquids; 4.3 dangerous when wet; 5.1 oxidizers; 6.2 infectious substances; 7 radioactive; 8 corrosive.
- Placards may appear on the sides and both ends of transport trucks.
- Signs mark roads where dangerous goods vehicles may travel and roads where they may not.
- Dangerous goods vehicles may not be used for road tests.
In case of an emergency (p. 257–258)
- After a spill, call the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) or local police first, then notify your employer, the vehicle owner and the consignor or owner of the goods.
- The PEP Coordination Centre is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and informs the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Environment Canada.
- For Class 6.2 infectious substance spills or a catastrophic cylinder failure, call CANUTEC at 613-996-6666 (collect); cellphone *666.
- CANUTEC (the Canadian Transport Emergency Centre) gives technical advice on dangerous goods properties, storage and clean-up.
- The driver must immediately take all reasonable emergency measures to reduce danger to life, health, property or the environment.
- Transport Dangerous Goods, a division of Transport Canada, makes spot checks of labelling and containment.
Dangerous goods at railway crossings and fires (p. 53, 66–67)
- Vehicles carrying explosive, poisonous or flammable cargo, or combustible or corrosive liquids or LPG (empty or loaded), must stop at every uncontrolled main railway crossing.
- Vehicles transporting explosives must carry two fire extinguishers.
Signs for commercial drivers (p. 24–25, 31, 111–116, 237–246)
- Signs can be read by shape, colour and message.
- Regulatory sign examples: slow vehicles must use pullouts; slow traffic delaying five vehicles must use the pullout; winter tires or chains required when displayed.
- Two signs mark runaway lanes: one in advance and one at the entrance.
- Signs before a downgrade may show a suggested truck speed and direct you to check brakes; regulatory stop-and-check-brakes signs must be obeyed.
- The red triangle slow-moving vehicle sign is for vehicles under 40 km/h.
- Diamond low-clearance warning signs give the height of an overhead structure ahead.
- Truck route signs show where commercial vehicles may or may not travel, or which lane they may not use; bus route signs work the same way.
- Weigh scale signs direct commercial vehicles into the scale.
- A steady white rectangular transit priority light means only buses may go.
- A school zone limit shown on a tab applies 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days; a playground zone 30 km/h limit applies every day from dawn to dusk.
- It is illegal to drive over freshly painted, wet pavement markings.
Study the Dangerous goods and signs for commercial drivers rules as flashcards →
Other topics
- Licence classes, endorsements and testingClass 1 to 4 and what each covers, minimum ages, the air brake (code 15) and heavy trailer (code 20) endorsements, the driving record and medical rules, learner supervision, MELT and retest waiting periods.
- Heavy vehicle brakingHow brakes turn motion into heat, stopping time and following distance, speed and weight effects, brake fade, retarders, downgrades, water, runaway lanes and ABS.
- Basic commercial driving skillsFollowing distance, danger zones, off track and turns, curves, roundabouts, backing, mirrors, emergency vehicles, double-clutching, railway crossings and night driving.
- Tires, warnings and personal safetyTire pressure and tread limits, wheel checks, required braking systems, flashing lights, warning devices for disabled vehicles, carbon monoxide, seatbelts, phones, impoundment and fire fighting.
- Fuel-efficient drivingStarting and warming up a diesel, smart shifting and speed, idling, tire pressure, en route checks and vehicle choices that save fuel.
- Backing and handling trailersBacking a semi-trailer, rollovers and load height, double trailers, trailer whipping, parking a trailer and weight distribution on a tractor-trailer.
- Coupling and uncouplingCoupling and uncoupling a fifth wheel step by step, the tug test, landing gear, pintle hitches, safety chains and drawbars.
- Loading and weight distributionWhere to place heavy loads on a truck, axle load shares for freight, dump and mixer trucks, covered aggregate loads, livestock and liquid tank loads.
- Cargo securementThe North American cargo securement standard, tiedown condition, how many tiedowns and how strong, binders, front-end structures, load projections and vehicles carried as cargo.
- Dimensions, weights and permitsHeight and width limits, mirrors, GVW and licensed GVW, overload and oversize permits, pilot cars and reporting to weigh scales.
- Operating a busBus passenger safety, leaving the curb, transit right-of-way, highway stops, fares, standing passengers, required equipment, baggage and the bus pre-trip.
- School busesWhich licences cover school buses, daily brake checks, school bus equipment and signs, loading and unloading, flashing red lights and railway crossings.
- Taxis, limousines and ride-hailingClass 4 restricted, taxi and limousine definitions, passenger transportation licences, seating, duty to carry and when you may refuse, jump seats and passengers with disabilities.
- Ambulances and special vehiclesLicences for ambulances and special vehicles, when emergency vehicles may use lights and sirens, yielding to them, and equipment rules that depend on seating capacity.
- Hours of serviceOn-duty and off-duty time, daily and shift limits, cycles and resets, deferral, sleeper berths, personal use, ELDs and records of duty status, the 160 km exemption and other jurisdictions.
- Air brake componentsWhy air brakes, brake chambers and slack adjusters, s-cam brakes, compressor, governor, reservoirs, foot valve, air dryers and ABS.
- Dual air brake systemsThe dual foot valve, primary and secondary circuits, one-way check valves, the low-air warning, quick release and relay valves, and what happens when one circuit fails.
- Spring parking brakesWhy parking needs mechanical force, how spring brakes apply and release, compounding, caging, blended air and safety actuators.
- Tractor-trailer air systemsSupply and control lines, glad hands, trailer emergency application, the tractor protection system, the trailer hand valve and bobtail tractors.
- Air brake adjustmentPushrod stroke limits, checking manual slack adjusters by the applied and pry methods, adjusting them, automatic slack adjusters and common misconceptions.
- Trip inspections and reportsWhen inspections are required, which vehicles need written reports, cargo securement re-checks, report rules, pre-trip procedure, brake checks before hills and en route checks.
- Class 1 pre-trip inspectionThe Class 1 road test pre-trip: timing, slack adjuster set-up, fifth wheel and landing gear checks, leakage limits with trailers, tug tests and breakaway checks.
- Air brake pre-trip testThe air brake pre-trip on the road test: draining reservoirs, governor cut-out and cut-in, low-air warning, trailer supply valve closing, build-up time and leakage limits.