Transport of People & Goods: DGT theory test questions in English

Any load that overhangs the back must be marked with a 50 x 50 cm panel with red and white diagonal stripes at the end of the load. The panel is required in daylight and good visibility too, so it is not a night-only rule. At night you also add a red light. Passenger cars are not exempt.

Loads that can give off dust or fall off while you drive must be completely and securely covered, for example with a fitted tarp, so nothing escapes onto the road. The rule does not require a closed vehicle or small containers, just an effective cover.

Children 135 cm or shorter must use an approved child restraint suited to their height and weight, and as a rule they ride in the back. They may ride in front only if the car has no rear seats, all rear seats are taken by other such children, or the restraint cannot be installed in back. An adult seatbelt alone is never enough.

This panel (V-20) marks a load that sticks out past the back of a vehicle by up to 10% of its total length. In daytime, in good weather and with normal visibility, you signal that load with a 50 x 50 cm panel with diagonal red and white stripes, placed at the rear end of the load. It applies to any vehicle carrying a protruding load, not just freight vehicles, and it is not mounted on the front.

A rear-overhanging load always needs a red and white diagonal-striped panel at its end. At night you must also add a red light, since red is the color for the rear of a vehicle. Yellow or white lights are not the correct marking.

In a passenger car, a load may not stick out past the sides or the front. It may only stick out at the back: up to 15% of the vehicle's length for an indivisible load, or 10% for a divisible one. No side overhang is allowed, whatever the distance.

On goods vehicles 5 meters long or shorter, an indivisible load may stick out up to one third of the vehicle's length at each end, front and back. The fixed 2 m and 3 m figures are not the limits for these vehicles. The load must also be properly secured.

In a passenger car, the load may never stick out past the sides or the front. It may only stick out at the rear: up to 15% of the car's length for an indivisible load, and up to 10% for a divisible one. A striped panel or good stability does not make side overhang legal.

Children must use an approved child restraint until they are over 135 cm tall, so a 125 cm child needs one. They must also ride in the back, except when the car has no rear seats or all rear seats are already taken by child restraints. In those cases, the child may ride in front, but still in an approved restraint. A seat belt alone is not enough, and the reason is not that children can't wear belts.

The extra weight of a passenger makes the wheels, especially the rear one, respond later and with more difficulty when you brake. Braking distance gets longer, not shorter, and passing takes more distance. A passenger changes how the bike handles, not your reaction time.

On vehicles less than 1 meter wide, such as motorcycles and mopeds, the load may stick out up to 0.25 meters at the rear and nothing at the front. Some overhang is allowed, but never at the front.

The heavier your load, the more force your vehicle needs to stop, so braking distance gets longer. It is never the same or shorter. Extra weight also raises fuel consumption.

As a general rule, people must get in and out on the side closest to the sidewalk or shoulder, away from traffic. On one-way urban roads (vías urbanas), they use the left or right side depending on which side the vehicle is stopped. The driver's side or any side is not the general rule.

Between sunset and sunrise, or when visibility is greatly reduced, a front overhang needs a white light and white reflector, and a rear overhang needs a red light and the red-and-white diagonal striped panel. Reflectors alone or the panel alone are not enough.

Child restraints are chosen by the child's weight (and height), not by age, and you shouldn't buy one bigger than the child needs. They are grouped by weight: groups 0 and 0+ up to 13 kg, group 1 from 9 to 18 kg, and groups 2 and 3 from 15 to 36 kg.

Loads that can give off dust or fall off must be completely and effectively covered, for example with a suitable tarp, so nothing lands on the road or bothers other traffic. A sealed vehicle or small containers are not what the rule requires.

At night or in poor visibility, a front overhang needs both a white light and a white reflector. A light alone isn't enough, and no front marking is required in normal daylight. Rear overhangs use red markings instead.

On vehicles less than 1 meter wide, such as motorcycles and mopeds, the load may not stick out at the front at all. It may stick out up to 0.50 meters on each side and up to 0.25 meters at the back, which is where the other figures come from.

In vehicles not designed to carry goods, such as passenger cars, the load may never stick out beyond the vehicle's outline. That means no side overhang under any circumstances. Neither an indivisible load nor a total width under 2.5 meters makes it legal.

More weight means more mass to move and to stop, so the car accelerates more slowly and needs more distance to brake. Leave a bigger following gap and allow extra time when merging. A heavy load actually increases fuel consumption and lengthens stopping distance, so the other options are wrong.

Under Spain's General Traffic Regulations, the general maximum height for a vehicle on public roads, load included, is 4 meters. The 3 and 2.5 meter figures are not the legal limit for height.

Goods may not be placed on the sidewalk during loading or unloading, because it is a pedestrian area. They also may not be left on the roadway or shoulder. A warning sign or an empty sidewalk doesn't change this rule.

Going over the maximum weight listed on the vehicle's inspection card (tarjeta ITV) hurts stability, reduces suspension performance, weakens acceleration, and lengthens braking distance. So overloading clearly affects safety, and the problem is not limited to the tires.

As a general rule, you may not drop, place, or leave goods on the roadway or shoulder during loading and unloading, since they can block traffic or create danger. Pedestrian areas are off-limits too, so the third option is wrong.

Each seat can hold only one person, child or adult. With the driver in one seat, 4 seats remain for children, who must use an approved child restraint until they are over 1.35 meters tall. Carrying 5 or 6 children would exceed the number of seats available.

A load that sticks out at the rear must always be marked, day and night, with a red-and-white diagonally striped panel at the very end of the load. At night or in low visibility, a red light is also required. This applies to all vehicles, not just trucks.

A fallen load is an obstacle, so you must warn other drivers and arrange to have it removed as soon as possible. Since January 1, 2026, you do this with your hazard lights and the connected V-16 emergency beacon, placed as high as possible (usually on the roof). Marking isn't limited to breakdowns.

On urban roads, each town or city government sets its own rules for loading and unloading. That is why you must follow the local authorities' instructions. The other options are too narrow or too rigid to be the general rule.

A load sticking out at the rear must be marked with an official 50 x 50 cm panel with red and white diagonal stripes, placed at the back of the load. This applies to every type of vehicle, not only trucks. A red cloth is not the approved marking.