Bad Weather & Night Driving — British Columbia

British Columbia ICBC commercial knowledge test practice: 252 free practice questions (Based on the official driver handbook). Official test format: Class 1 60/48; Class 2-4 35/28; air brake 25/20. Bad Weather & Night Driving: 6 questions. Updated

Rain, snow, ice, fog and night driving: visibility, traction and headlight use.

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Topic / MetricValue
TopicBad Weather & Night Driving
License testBritish Columbia Commercial knowledge tests (Class 1–4, air brake)
Topic questions6 (2% of 252 total)
Review statusThis topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines.

Official handbook

icbc.com ✓ Verified from official source

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Questions (6)

1. When driving in fog, you should use
  1. parking lights.
  2. parking lights and high-beam headlights.
  3. high-beam headlights.
  4. low-beam headlights. ✓

Answer: D. low-beam headlights.

In fog you should drive with your low-beam headlights on. The handbook passages don't talk about fog directly, but they do settle which lights are for driving. Parking lights are for parking only, and driving at night on parking lights alone is illegal. The handbook also has you drop from high beam to low beam near other vehicles so you don't blind them. Putting those together, low beams are the setting meant for seeing the road while driving without throwing glare, which is why they're the answer here rather than high beams or parking lights.
Official handbook: ICBC Driving Commercial Vehicles, 3 Basic driving skills – Acts of nature, p. 56
2. In British Columbia, you must dim your headlights whenever you are within ________ of another vehicle.
  1. 50 metres
  2. 100 metres
  3. 150 metres ✓
  4. 200 metres

Answer: C. 150 metres

Official handbook: Official handbook
3. An oncoming vehicle at night has not dimmed its high-beam headlights. What should you do?
  1. Turn on your high beams.
  2. Honk your horn.
  3. Look at the left edge of your lane until the vehicle passes.
  4. Look at the right edge of your lane until the vehicle passes. ✓

Answer: D. Look at the right edge of your lane until the vehicle passes.

Look at the right edge of your lane until the vehicle passes. The night driving section of the handbook says not to flash your lights at a driver who keeps the high beams on. Instead, you should slow down and put your eyes on the right edge of the road, so you can still pick out pedestrians and obstacles while the glare is in your face. The right edge, not the left, is the reference the handbook gives, and it keeps your attention on your own lane and the hazards at its side.
Official handbook: ICBC Driving Commercial Vehicles, 3 Basic driving skills – Acts of nature, p. 56
4. When you're driving on a slippery road, hard braking may cause
  1. (a) your wheels to lock up.
  2. (b) your brakes to fail.
  3. (c) your vehicle to skid or jackknife.
  4. (a) and (c) ✓

Answer: D. (a) and (c)

Hard braking on a slippery road may cause your wheels to lock up and your vehicle to skid or jackknife. The handbook says that pressing the brake too hard on a slippery road can lock the wheels. Once the wheels lock, the vehicle can skid or a tractor-trailer can jackknife. So both the wheel lock-up and the skid or jackknife belong in the answer. Brake failure is not listed as a result of hard braking.
Official handbook: ICBC Driving Commercial Vehicles, 2 Heavy vehicle braking – Braking, p. 25
5. Which of the following statements about a vehicle's retarder is FALSE?
  1. Its use is often restricted in residential areas.
  2. On a slippery surface, it may make a skid more likely.
  3. It is more efficient at a higher engine rpm and in a lower transmission gear.
  4. It is powerful enough to replace the service brakes. ✓

Answer: D. It is powerful enough to replace the service brakes.

The false statement is that a retarder is powerful enough to replace the service brakes. The handbook describes retarders as devices that provide auxiliary slowing and assist the main brake system. They are meant for tasks such as controlling speed on long downgrades without using the main brakes, and engine retarders help save the service brakes for emergency stopping. Even though some retarders can absorb a lot of horsepower, the handbook still treats them as helpers to the service brakes, not as a substitute for them.
Official handbook: ICBC Driving Commercial Vehicles, 2 Heavy vehicle braking – Power to move and power to stop, p. 22
6. When refuelling your vehicle, you should
  1. keep the engine running.
  2. keep the radio on.
  3. smoke a cigarette.
  4. keep the nozzle in contact with the fuel filler intake. ✓

Answer: D. keep the nozzle in contact with the fuel filler intake.

Keep the fuel nozzle in contact with the filler pipe on your vehicle the whole time you refuel. The handbook says not to refuel while the engine is running, while the on-board radio is transmitting, or when an open flame is present. It also says to hold the fuel hose nozzle against the filler pipe at all times so the connection is grounded. That makes keeping the nozzle in contact the right action. The point is to ground the connection and avoid ignition sources during fuelling. The same section warns against smoking in garages or near fuelling areas.
Official handbook: ICBC Driving Commercial Vehicles, 6 Skills for driving buses, taxis, limousines and ride-hailing vehicles – Operating a bus, taxi, limousine or ride-hailing vehicle, p. 126
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