There is a fire under the hood of your truck. How should you fight it?

Spray from below or through the grille

Open the hood wide first to reach the flames

On a vehicle with a GVW of 5,500 kg or more, when is a front tire defective?

With less than 3 mm (1/8 in) of tread

With less than 6 mm (1/4 in) of tread

Only when the cords are showing

With less than 1.6 mm (1/16 in) of tread

Which device may a commercial (non-GLP) driver use while driving in B.C.?

A fixed hands-free phone, one touch

A hand-held phone, but only while stopped at red lights

BC Class 1–4 overview

BC Class 1–4: Tires, warnings and personal safety

Tire pressure and tread limits, wheel checks, required braking systems, flashing lights, warning devices for disabled vehicles, carbon monoxide, seatbelts, phones, impoundment and fire fighting.

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Tires, warnings and personal safety · Question 1Score 0/0

Where should warning devices go around a disabled vehicle?

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

Study reference: Driving Commercial Vehicles (ICBC, 2024 edition), Ch. 3 Basic driving skills — Tires and wheels, Disabled vehicles, Personal safety, Fire

All 15 questions in this test

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

Where should warning devices go around a disabled vehicle?
1. Right beside the vehicle
2. About 30 m ahead and 30 m behind
3. About 10 m behind only
4. About 75 m ahead and behind
There is a fire under the hood of your truck. How should you fight it?
1. Open the hood wide first to reach the flames
2. Wait for it to burn out
3. Spray from below or through the grille
4. Throw water on the engine
On a vehicle with a GVW of 5,500 kg or more, when is a front tire defective?
1. With less than 6 mm (1/4 in) of tread
2. Only when the cords are showing
3. With less than 3 mm (1/8 in) of tread
4. With less than 1.6 mm (1/16 in) of tread
How far should your breastbone be from a steering-wheel airbag?
1. At least 25 cm (10 in)
2. At least 50 cm (20 in)
3. At least 10 cm (4 in)
4. As close as is comfortable
Which device may a commercial (non-GLP) driver use while driving in B.C.?
1. A fixed hands-free phone, one touch
2. A tablet held on the lap
3. A hand-held phone, but only while stopped at red lights
4. A phone held on speaker
What may rust streaks on a wheel rim mean?
1. The tire is overinflated
2. A loose lug nut or a cracked rim
3. The brakes are well adjusted
4. The wheel was recently painted
How many separate braking systems must every motor vehicle have?
1. At least two, both air-operated
2. At least two, one of them mechanical
3. Three, two of them hydraulic
4. One, if it has air brakes
Which vehicles must carry approved warning devices for breakdowns?
1. Every vehicle with a Class 5 licence holder
2. Only tractor-trailers over 63,500 kg
3. Vehicles seating over 10, or over 2.3 m wide
4. Only vehicles carrying dangerous goods of any class
How many fire extinguishers must a vehicle carrying explosives have?
1. None, if placarded
2. Two
3. Three
4. One
What is a major cause of retread (recapped) tire failure?
1. Overinflation
2. Driving in the rain
3. Underinflation
4. Cold weather
When should you check and adjust tire pressure?
1. By kicking each tire
2. Only at the annual inspection
3. When the tires are cool, using a gauge
4. Right after highway driving, while they are warm
You feel dizzy and drowsy and suspect carbon monoxide. What should you do?
1. Drink coffee and continue
2. Open a window and keep driving
3. Pull over, stop and get fresh air
4. Turn the heater up
How long is a vehicle impoundment for a first excessive-speeding offence?
1. 24 hours
2. 30 days
3. Seven days
4. 90 days
Which vehicles may use flashing blue lights?
1. Ambulances and fire trucks
2. Snowplows and sanders
3. Police vehicles only
4. Tow trucks and pilot cars
Which wear pattern shows a tire is underinflated?
1. One side only wears faster
2. Wear stays perfectly even
3. The centre of the tread wears faster
4. The outer edges of the tread wear faster

Tires, warnings and personal safety: 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 ↗

Tires and wheels (p. 57–59)

Inspect tires, wheels and rims before every trip; poor ones are dangerous and illegal.
Underinflation, overloading and speed make tires flex more and heat up; too much heat can raise pressure until the tire bursts.
A major cause of retread (recapped) tire failure is underinflation.
Check and adjust tire pressure when tires are cool, with a gauge; letting air out of a warm tire upsets the cooling balance.
Overinflation wears the centre of the tread and reduces road contact and traction.
Underinflation wears the outer edges and raises the risk of hydroplaning.
Driving at 110 km/h can cut tread life by 20 per cent compared with 90 km/h.
Driving on a flat can cause a tire fire that may spread to the truck or trailer.
Defective tire: tread cut, crack or snag over 2.5 cm (1 in) long that exposes the ply cords.
On a vehicle with GVW 5,500 kg or more: less than 3 mm (1/8 in) tread on a front tire or less than 1.6 mm (1/16 in) on a rear tire is defective.
Trailer tires with less than 1.6 mm (1/16 in) tread are defective; winter tires with less than 3.5 mm (3/16 in) are defective.
Radial and bias-ply tires, or different sizes, may be on the same vehicle but not on the same axle (and it is not recommended).
After changing a tire, stop soon after and recheck wheel nuts with a torque wrench.
Disc wheels: do not drive with loose or missing lug nuts, stripped studs or rim cracks; metal or paint flakes around nuts may mean the wheel is moving.
Cast spoke wheels: do not drive with missing or loose nuts or rim clamps or cracked rims or hubs; rim wear near a clamp or a valve stem too close to a spoke may mean the rim has shifted.
Oil or grease leaking from a hub: check whether it has reached the brake linings.
Rust streaks on a rim may mean a loose lug nut or a cracked rim; wheel separations usually come from loose fasteners, broken wheels or rims, or bearing failure.

Brake warnings, braking systems, flashing lights (p. 59–60)

Vehicles with air or vacuum brakes must have a device that warns the driver if air pressure or vacuum fails.
Every motor vehicle needs at least two separate braking systems, one of them mechanical (for example ratchet-and-pawl or spring brake).
If the foot brakes fail, the emergency (mechanical) brake needs more time and distance to stop.
Red flashing lights are for emergency vehicles only; blue flashing lights for police only; police vehicles show both.
Amber flashing lights are for construction, towing and attending tow vehicles, snow removal and sanding equipment, pilot cars and vehicles required by permit (some oversize loads).
You need a permit from Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement before mounting amber flashing lights.

Disabled vehicles (p. 60–61)

Approved warning devices must be carried by vehicles seating more than 10 passengers and by commercial vehicles (or loads) wider than 2.3 m.
In the dark at least two warning devices are required; in daylight at least two red flags of at least 30 cm by 30 cm, or two daylight-approved devices.
At night you may use flares, fuses, reflectors and red lanterns.
Move a disabled vehicle as far off the travelled road as possible and place warning devices about 30 m ahead and 30 m behind; extra devices farther back are good practice.

Personal safety: carbon monoxide, seatbelts, devices (p. 61–63)

Carbon monoxide is odourless, colourless and tasteless; it causes dizziness or drowsiness, unconsciousness and death.
If you feel dizzy or drowsy, pull over, stop and get fresh air; never run the engine in a closed garage.
A lap and shoulder belt used correctly cuts the chance of death in a crash by about 50 per cent.
Drivers who get in and out often (inner-city delivery, bus, emergency vehicle drivers) may be exempt from seatbelts at 40 km/h or less.
Lap belt low over the pelvis, shoulder belt snug across the chest, never under the arm or behind the back.
Keep at least 25 cm (10 in) between breastbone and a steering-wheel airbag.
Head restraint: top at least level with the top of your head and less than 10 cm from the back of the head.
All B.C. drivers are banned from using hand-held electronic devices while driving; calling 9-1-1 in an emergency is allowed.
Commercial (non-GLP) drivers may use hands-free devices that need only one touch on a button fixed and secured in place; two-way radios and mobile data terminals are allowed.

Impairment, drugs, fatigue, emotions (p. 63–65)

Police may prohibit you if your ability is affected by alcohol or drugs even below a BAC of .08 or a THC level of 2 ng.
Refusing a breath sample brings immediate and severe penalties.
If convicted of impaired driving after causing a crash, your insurance claim may be denied and ICBC can recover crash costs from you.
Police can impound a vehicle for driving unlicensed, suspended or prohibited, excessive speeding (40 km/h or more over the limit), and street racing or stunts.
Impoundment starts at seven days and can rise to 30 or 60 days for repeat offenders; the owner pays towing and storage.
Employers who let an unlicensed or prohibited driver use a company vehicle can have it impounded.
Antihistamines, sedatives, tranquilizers and some cold remedies cause drowsiness; read labels and ask a pharmacist.
Stay-awake pills may keep you physically awake but do not fix mental fatigue; the only cure is rest or sleep.

Fire and fire extinguishers (p. 65–67)

Never start a vehicle with a fuel leak; a peace officer may order it out of service until repaired.
Shut off the engine when refuelling and keep the nozzle in contact with the filler pipe to ground it.
Diesel fuel is toxic; do not touch it or clean it with a cloth.
Soft tires build heat and can start a fire; dragging brakes can ignite hub grease.
At a fire: do not risk your life; have a bystander call the fire department; separate tractor and trailer only if safe.
Fight a fire with the wind at your back.
Electrical fire: disconnect the battery cables.
Fire under the hood: aim the extinguisher from underneath or through the radiator; do not open the hood.
Never use water on gasoline or oil fires; use an extinguisher, sand or dirt.
Dry chemical extinguishers are easier and safer; CO2 extinguishers are more effective but must not be used in enclosed spaces.
A BC-rated dry chemical extinguisher handles grease, oil, gasoline and electrical fires; ABC adds Class A fires such as paper and cloth.
One extinguisher is required on limited passenger vehicles seating more than 10, all public passenger vehicles and all school buses (CSA D250 for school buses).
Vehicles carrying explosives must carry two extinguishers.
You must be properly trained before carrying dangerous goods.

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