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Ontario Class A (AZ) overview

Ontario Class A (AZ): Driver conduct and sharing the road

Following distance for trucks, speed limiters, passing and bluffing, school buses, railway crossings, cyclists, emergency vehicles, right-of-way and HOV lanes.

  • 22 questions
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Driver conduct and sharing the road · Question 1Score 0/0

How does a tractor-trailer's stopping distance compare with an average car's?

Study reference: MTO Truck Handbook (online edition, 2026), Ch. 3 Safe and responsible driving — Driver conduct, sharing the road

All 22 questions in this test

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

  1. How does a tractor-trailer's stopping distance compare with an average car's?

    1. About the same
    2. About half as long
    3. About ten times as long
    4. About twice as long

  2. On a highway above 60 km/h, what minimum gap must a commercial vehicle keep behind other vehicles?

    1. 100 m (330 ft)
    2. 150 m (500 ft)
    3. 60 m (200 ft)
    4. 30 m (100 ft)

  3. How close may you follow a fire truck responding to a call?

    1. No closer than 50 m
    2. No closer than 100 m
    3. No limit applies
    4. No closer than 150 m

  4. How close to a pedestrian crossover may you NOT pass another vehicle?

    1. Within 30 m
    2. Within 60 m
    3. Within 150 m
    4. Within 10 m

  5. As a best practice, how much space should you leave when passing a cyclist?

    1. No set distance
    2. At least 5 metres
    3. At least one metre
    4. At least 30 cm

  6. Why should you avoid shifting gears while crossing railway tracks?

    1. You could stall on the tracks
    2. It sets off the crossing gates
    3. It damages the rails
    4. It is illegal for cars too

  7. Why should you never use your left signal to tell drivers behind it is safe to pass?

    1. It is only allowed at night
    2. It wears out the bulbs
    3. It disables the speed limiter
    4. It is illegal and confusing

  8. Two vehicles stop at an all-way stop at the same time. Who goes first?

    1. The vehicle on the right
    2. The vehicle on the left
    3. The larger vehicle
    4. The vehicle going straight

  9. A small car is passing your rig. What is the courteous thing to do?

    1. Slow a little to let it in
    2. Flash your high beams as a warning
    3. Speed up so it passes sooner
    4. Move left to block it from passing

  10. What is the fine range for a first offence of passing a stopped school bus with lights flashing?

    1. $5,000 to $20,000
    2. $1,000 to $4,000
    3. $100 to $500
    4. $400 to $2,000

  11. Approaching a stopped school bus from behind with its upper red lights flashing, how far back must you stop?

    1. At least 10 m
    2. At least 20 m
    3. At least 50 m
    4. At least 5 m

  12. A train is approaching a crossing. How far from the nearest rail must you stop?

    1. At least 50 m
    2. At least 1 m
    3. At least 20 m
    4. At least 5 m

  13. May a tractor-trailer with two people aboard use an HOV lane?

    1. No, large trucks are not allowed
    2. Yes, at night only
    3. Yes, if under 23 m long
    4. Yes, with two or more people

  14. To what top speed must a commercial vehicle's speed limiter be set?

    1. 110 km/h
    2. 90 km/h
    3. 105 km/h
    4. 100 km/h

  15. At a red light with a painted bike box ahead, where must you stop?

    1. On the bike lane line
    2. Behind the bike box
    3. Inside the bike box
    4. Past the crosswalk

  16. Which trucks must have a speed limiter?

    1. 1995 or newer, 11,794 kg MGVWR or more
    2. Any truck over 4,500 kg
    3. Only trucks hauling dangerous goods
    4. Only trucks built after 2015

  17. An ambulance with its siren on approaches from behind. What must you do?

    1. Speed up to clear the lane
    2. Move right and stop
    3. Move into the left lane
    4. Stop where you are

  18. You approach a tow truck stopped on the shoulder with amber lights flashing, on a two-lane highway. What must you do?

    1. Stop behind it until it leaves
    2. Sound the horn as you pass
    3. Slow down and move over a lane if safe
    4. Keep speed; tow trucks are exempt

  19. On a road with a median, which traffic must stop for a school bus with lights flashing?

    1. Only traffic behind the bus
    2. Traffic in both directions
    3. Only oncoming traffic
    4. No traffic at all

  20. What does the handbook call using your truck's size to force your way through traffic?

    1. Blocking
    2. Platooning
    3. Tailgating
    4. Bluffing

  21. Your loaded rig slows on a long hill. What should you do for following traffic?

    1. Move to the centre to block passing
    2. Speed up past the limit on the next flat
    3. Keep right; flashers are a good practice
    4. Signal left to show it is safe to pass

  22. What does an orange triangle with a red border on the back of farm machinery mean?

    1. It is wider than 3 m
    2. It is carrying dangerous goods
    3. It is about to turn left
    4. It travels at 40 km/h or less

Driver conduct and sharing the road: 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 ↗

Driver conduct

  • When unable to keep up with traffic on a hill, stay right so others can pass; turning on hazard lights is good practice.
  • Never use your left-turn signal to tell drivers behind that it is safe to pass; it is illegal and confusing.
  • Avoid pulling out to pass another large vehicle when the speed difference is so small that you block traffic for a long time.
  • Bluffing (using your size to force through traffic) creates serious hazards.
  • On a highway at over 60 km/h, a commercial motor vehicle must keep at least 60 m (200 ft) behind other vehicles, except when overtaking.
  • Speed limiters apply to commercial vehicles built in 1995 or later, with an MGVWR of 11,794 kg (26,000 lb) or more and an electronically controlled engine; they must be set to no more than 105 km/h.
  • Buses, mobile cranes, motor homes, ambulances and fire apparatus are exempt from the speed-limiter rule.

Precautions

  • Never let an unauthorized person sit in the driver's seat or operate the truck or its controls.
  • Back with the utmost care: use all mirrors, look back and, if possible, have someone guide you.

Smaller vehicles

  • A tractor-trailer needs about twice the stopping distance of an average car and takes much longer to reach normal speed.
  • When a faster vehicle is passing you, slow enough to let it fit in safely ahead.
  • Small vehicles often move into a large vehicle's turning space; check that no one has moved into it before you complete the turn.
  • Motorcycles and mopeds may use the whole lane; their turn signals often do not self-cancel, so make sure they are actually turning.

Cyclists, farm machinery, buses

  • When passing a cyclist leave at least one metre; change lanes to pass when possible, and do not follow closely (bicycles have no brake lights).
  • Stop behind a bike box at a red signal, never in it; enter a bike lane to turn right only when it is safe.
  • Farm tractors and machinery usually travel at 40 km/h or less and show an orange-and-red slow-moving vehicle sign.
  • You must let a municipal bus re-enter traffic from a bus bay when it signals to leave.

Stopping at railway crossings, school buses and crossings

  • When a train is coming, stop at least 5 m from the nearest rail or gate; a train can need up to 2 km to stop.
  • Avoid shifting gears while crossing tracks; if trapped on a crossing, get everyone out and away, then call authorities.
  • School buses must stop at all railway crossings; buses and public vehicles stop at crossings without gates, lights or a stop sign.
  • Coming from behind a stopped school bus with upper red lights flashing, stop at least 20 m back; from the front, stop at a safe distance. On a road with a median, only traffic behind the bus stops.
  • Failing to stop for a school bus: $400 to $2,000 and six demerit points for a first offence; $1,000 to $4,000, six points and possible jail of up to six months for a second within five years.
  • At a pedestrian crossover, do not pass any vehicle within 30 m of it and wait until pedestrians have fully crossed.
  • Failing to obey a school crossing guard can bring a fine and three demerit points.

Right-of-way

  • At an uncontrolled intersection, yield to the vehicle approaching from the right.
  • At an all-way stop, the first vehicle to stop goes first; if two stop together, the vehicle on the left yields to the one on the right.
  • Signalling does not give you the right-of-way.

Emergency vehicles

  • When an emergency vehicle approaches from either direction with lights or siren, slow down, move as far right as possible and stop.
  • Do not follow within 150 m of a fire vehicle or ambulance responding to a call.
  • Passing a stopped emergency vehicle or tow truck with lights flashing: slow down and, on a road with two or more lanes, move over one lane if safe.
  • Failing to slow down and move over: $400 to $2,000 for a first offence, demerit points and a possible suspension of up to two years.
  • A flashing green light shows a volunteer firefighter or medical responder in a personal vehicle; yield to them.

HOV lanes

  • Large trucks are not allowed in HOV lanes regardless of how many people are on board.
  • A commercial vehicle may use an HOV lane only with two or more people and a total length under 6.5 m.
  • Crossing the striped buffer beside an HOV lane is illegal.

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