QLD motorcycle test road surface hazards practice questions

Question 1

The sealed road you are on runs out into a gravel section. What is the safest way to make the transition?

• Keep your speed and hope the tyres cope
• Slow down on the sealed surface first, then ride the gravel upright with a steady throttle and a light gripCorrect answer
• Brake hard once you are on the gravel
• Lean the bike over so more tyre touches the surface

The change in grip happens in a single bike length. Do the slowing while you still have grip, then stay relaxed on the bars and let the bike move around a little under you.

Rule cited: A Guide to Riding Safely (Queensland), topic: unsealed roads

Question 2

You come over a rise on a rural Queensland road and there is mud spread across the bitumen from farm machinery. What should you do?

• Ride through it at your normal speed
• Slow down before you reach it, cross it upright with no braking or turning, and expect a slick surface for some distanceCorrect answer
• Brake hard in the middle of it
• Swerve onto the gravel shoulder to avoid it

Mud or cane trash tracked out of a paddock is as slippery as ice, especially when damp, and it usually continues for a long stretch. Get your speed down early and make no sudden inputs.

Rule cited: A Guide to Riding Safely (Queensland), topic: road surface hazards

Question 3

You are stopping at a wet pedestrian crossing with wide painted stripes. Where should you brake?

• On the painted stripes, they give better grip
• Before you reach the paint, so the bike is settled and upright when you cross itCorrect answer
• It makes no difference where you brake
• Only on the white lines

Wet line marking is far more slippery than the road around it, and crossing stripes are wide enough for both tyres to be on paint at the same time. Get your braking done before them.

Rule cited: A Guide to Riding Safely (Queensland), topic: road surface hazards

Question 4

Why do steel expansion joints and bridge plates deserve care on a motorcycle?

• They damage tyres permanently
• They offer much less grip than bitumen, especially when wetCorrect answer
• They interfere with the ignition system
• They are always higher than the road

Steel gives little grip and can be polished smooth by traffic. Cross it upright with a steady throttle, and avoid braking, accelerating hard or turning while your tyres are on it.

Rule cited: A Guide to Riding Safely (Queensland), topic: road surface hazards

Question 5

You are approaching a cattle grid on a rural road. How should you cross it?

• Upright, square to the bars of the grid, at a steady speed with no brakingCorrect answer
• At an angle so the tyres roll along the bars
• Braking hard as you cross
• Leaned over to reduce the bumps

The steel bars are slippery and can steer a leaned tyre. Approach straight, slow before it, keep the bike upright and let it roll across with a light grip on the bars.

Rule cited: A Guide to Riding Safely (Queensland), topic: rural roads

Question 6

After heavy rain you reach a section of road covered by flowing water. What should you do?

• Ride through slowly in a low gear
• Do not ride into it, turn around and find another routeCorrect answer
• Ride through as fast as you can
• Walk the bike through

You cannot see whether the road under the water is still there, and a motorcycle needs very little depth or flow to be swept off its wheels. Water over the road means find another way.

Rule cited: A Guide to Riding Safely (Queensland), topic: floodwater

Question 7

You are stopping at a busy set of traffic lights. Where should you put your tyres and your feet?

• On the dark shiny strip down the centre of the lane
• In a wheel track, either side of the oil and fuel that collects in the middle of the laneCorrect answer
• On the painted stop line
• In the gutter

Stopped and idling vehicles drip oil, coolant and fuel into the centre of the lane. That strip is slippery for your tyres and for the boot you put down, so stop in a wheel track instead.

Rule cited: A Guide to Riding Safely (Queensland), topic: road surface hazards