Ontario Class AZ License Test - What To Look For When Learning To Operate a Commercial Vehicle
Do you want to jumpstart your career in the truck driving industry?
To become a commercial truck driver in Ontario, you must obtain an AZ driver’s license. An AZ license allows drivers to carry any cargo without restrictions. A D-license only allows the driver to haul and tow cargo weighing 4.6 tons or less.
This license (AZ) opens many doors for you in the trucking industry. First off, it makes you very valuable to your potential employers. Second, it makes it easy for you to land a job. Third, the AZ license gives you an edge over other candidates.
Why, you may ask. With the AZ license, your employer will assign you the most lucrative hauls, enabling you to make a lot of money.
Most people don’t know that the AZ license has two portions – A and Z.
The A portion allows you to haul cargo of any size unrestricted. The Z portion gives you the qualifications to operate trucks with air brakes.
How To Identify A Good Truck Driving Practice Test Website Before You Sign Up
To obtain your AZ license, you must know the requirements. Without these requirements, getting behind the wheel or obtaining the AZ license won’t be easy. First, you must be at least 18 years old. This is because, as an 18-year-old, you will have driven for a couple of years already.
The preferred age range is over 25 because anything below that will result in higher insurance premiums. You must also have a clean driving record and no criminal record, pass your vision test and medical exams, and pass your written knowledge test.
You must study and take practice tests to pass your written knowledge test. So, how do you identify a good truck driving practice test website?
Free to Sign Up
A truck driving practice test website should be free to sign up and must remain so. This is because it will be affordable for every person aspiring to be a commercial truck driver.
Easy to Use
An easy-to-use website means users do not require training to use it. As such, they spend little time searching for training resources and practice questions. Here is how such websites ensure they are easy to use.
They have:
- Consistent navigation
- Divide categories clearly
- Use accurate navigation titles
- Ensure that the search function works
Offer Comprehensive Tests and Learning Resources
A good practice test website should offer comprehensive tests covering different topics. It should, in general, be a good source of practice questions covering traffic signs and road rules. For example, it should have practice tests 1, 2, 3, and more.
Taking Your Ontario Class A Practice Test – Some Tips And Hints
It’s essential to take your Ontario Class A practice test exceptionally seriously. For starters, it helps you prepare for the real test. The practice test lets you determine which areas you missed while studying.
Also, it helps you become confident before taking the Class A license test. To pass the real test, you must take the practice questions. Here is how you can ace the practice test.
Download the Driver’s Handbooks
The first step is to obtain the truck driver’s handbook and the air brakes handbook. The truck driver handbooks cover everything about commercial trucking in Ontario. For example, chapter 1 covers trip inspections and the requirements for commercial driving.
Chapter 2 covers road signs, rules of the road, and truck driving techniques, such as hooking up to a trailer. Chapters 3 and 4 both promote safe and responsible driving and traffic signs.
The last few chapters focus on what to expect from on-road tests and license details. The Air Brakes handbook contains all the information needed to pass the Air Brakes knowledge test. Chapters in the book cover the following topics:
- Vehicle braking systems
- Air brake compliance
- Inspecting air brake components
- Foundation brakes
- Trailer brake subsystem
- Service brake subsystem
- Examining air brake adjustment and more
Focus on Your Studies
It’s essential to focus on your studies. From the information above, each handbook contains a lot of chapters. Do not cram the information in the manuals to ensure you’re prepared for the exam.
Instead, focus on your studies. Start by allocating two hours of study time. As you read each chapter, take notes or highlight important points. After each chapter, have someone quiz you.
This will help you know which areas to focus on.
Take the Ontario Class AZ Practice Test
Drivingtest.ca put together a no-pressure practice test that includes 30 questions with four answer choices. The questions cover both traffic signs and rules of the road. You also have a practice test for airbrakes.
Taking these practice tests helps to prepare you for the actual test. Remember, you can re-take the practice tests as often as you want.
The Ontario Truck Driving Practice Test Is Only Part Of The Journey
The practice tests mimic the real test, but unlike the practice test, which has 30 questions, the real test has 70 questions.
- 30 Road Rules questions
- 20 Road Sign questions
- 20 Air Brake questions
The Road Rules questions focus on the regulations of commercial driving. They also cover road clearance, service hours, driver logs, and weight stations. For the Road Sign questions, each question displays a road sign and multiple choices, where only one is correct.
The Air Brakes questions focus on the mechanics of the braking system. You need an 80% mark for each section to pass the real test. Once you pass your test, you get your learner’s permit.
Besides the practice test, drivers must take a training course from an accredited private career college. The province of Ontario made it mandatory for all truck drivers to attend a 103.5-hour training if applying for the AZ license.
You must know that most private trucking schools in Ontario teach Mandatory Entry-Level Training. This is expensive. The good news is there are more affordable government programs. To be eligible, you must apply for the program.
When you complete the training, your driving record gets updated automatically.