How many demerit points suspend a Class 7 learner in Alberta?

Eight. A GDL driver — Class 7 learner or Class 5-GDL — is suspended at 8 demerits. A full Class 5 driver is suspended at 15. These two numbers are a common source of mixed-up answers.

What is the legal blood alcohol limit for a GDL driver in Alberta?

Zero. GDL drivers must have no measurable alcohol or drugs in their system while driving. The 0.08 criminal limit applies only on top of that, for full-licence drivers.

How far behind a stop sign do you have to park?

At least five metres. The same five-metre minimum applies to crosswalks. Fifteen metres is the minimum from fire hydrants and railway crossings.

At what speed does hydroplaning start to be a risk?

Around 55 km/h on wet pavement. The exact speed depends on tyre tread, water depth, and vehicle weight, but 55 is the number the Alberta Driver's Guide uses as a threshold to watch for.

10 Most Commonly Failed Alberta Class 7 Questions

Last updated: October 2026

Updated October 2026 · 7 min read

Short versionThese are ten question types the Alberta Class 7 knowledge test keeps pulling from. They are the ones most people get wrong on a first try. For each, we show the type of question, the common mistake, and the correct answer with the reasoning behind it.

The actual questions on the Alberta knowledge test are drawn from a bank of several hundred. The exact wording changes. The underlying topics do not. The ten below show up in some form on almost every test, and they are where most lost points come from.

These are not real quiz items. They are written as plain-English examples so you understand the shape of the question. For actual practice items, use our 500-question practice test.

1. The GDL demerit threshold

Question type: How many demerits before a GDL driver is suspended?

Why people get it wrong: They remember the number 15 — the full-licence threshold — and pick that. Or they confuse Alberta with other provinces that use different numbers.

Correct answer: 8 demerits for a Class 7 or Class 5-GDL driver. Fifteen is the full Class 5 number. The GDL threshold is lower because the whole point of GDL is a lower tolerance for mistakes. Our fines and demerits drill walks through the exact fines too.

2. Blood alcohol for a GDL driver

Question type: What is the legal blood alcohol limit for a GDL driver?

Why people get it wrong: They pick 0.05 or 0.08 — the numbers they have seen in the news. Those are the warning and criminal limits for a full-licence driver.

Correct answer: Zero. No measurable alcohol or drugs. GDL drivers have no permitted level at all. A single drink that night and a traffic stop the next morning can still end your GDL stage.

3. Stopping distance on ice

Question type: Compared to dry pavement, how much farther does it take to stop on ice?

Why people get it wrong: They pick something that sounds reasonable, like twice as far, or three times. The real multiplier feels extreme.

Correct answer: Up to ten times the stopping distance on dry pavement. That is why winter following distance is doubled or tripled. The winter driving test drills these numbers against each surface.

4. Four-way stop sequencing

Question type: Two cars arrive at a four-way stop at the same time. Who goes first?

Why people get it wrong: They remember "first to arrive goes first" and apply it even when both arrive together. Or they add rules about who is turning.

Correct answer: The driver on the right. First to arrive wins when the arrival times differ. When they are the same, the right-hand car goes. If all four arrive together, drivers establish order with eye contact or hand signals, but the test's intended answer is the right-hand car.

5. Right-of-way at an uncontrolled intersection

Question type: Who has the right-of-way at an intersection with no signs or signals?

Why people get it wrong: They assume the bigger road wins, or the straight-ahead driver wins, or the faster driver wins. None of those are in the rule.

Correct answer: The vehicle on the right. This is the same rule as the four-way-stop case. An uncontrolled intersection is not a free-for-all. The right-hand driver has priority. The rules of the road test covers variations.

6. Left turn at a green light

Question type: You have a green light and want to turn left. An oncoming car is going straight. Who yields?

Why people get it wrong: They think a green light means a free turn. It does not.

Correct answer: The left-turning driver yields. A green light permits a left turn only when the way is clear. Oncoming traffic going straight has the right-of-way. The only exception is a green arrow, which is a protected left — then oncoming traffic has a red.

7. Flashing green versus flashing yellow

Question type: What does a flashing green light mean? And a flashing yellow?

Why people get it wrong: They treat them as the same, or guess that flashing green means "go slowly".

Correct answer: Flashing green means you have an advance green — you can turn left ahead of oncoming traffic because they still have a red. Flashing yellow means slow down and proceed with caution; cross-traffic has a flashing red and must stop. They do very different things, and the test will often put them in the same question to see if you confuse them.

8. Parking distance from a stop sign

Question type: How far from a stop sign must you park?

Why people get it wrong: They guess a number. Three metres, ten metres, something that sounds plausible.

Correct answer: At least 5 metres. The same 5-metre minimum applies to a crosswalk. For context, the other numbers worth memorising: 15 m from a fire hydrant, 15 m from a railway crossing, 1.5 m from a driveway, and never within an intersection itself. The parking and intersections drill lists them all.

9. Hydroplaning speed

Question type: At what speed does hydroplaning become a serious risk on wet roads?

Why people get it wrong: They assume highway speeds — 90 or 100 — are the trigger. The real number is much lower.

Correct answer: Around 55 km/h. That is the handbook's threshold. Above it, tyres can lose contact with the pavement even on a thin film of water. Worn tyres hydroplane earlier. The answer is a reminder to slow down well below the posted limit on wet roads.

10. Skid recovery

Question type: Your rear wheels are skidding to the right. What do you do?

Why people get it wrong: They brake hard. Or they steer the opposite way to "correct" the slide, which makes it worse.

Correct answer: Ease off the gas and steer in the direction you want to go. If the rear is sliding right, steer right. Do not brake hard — that locks the wheels and extends the skid. Hold the steering input until the car straightens, then come off it slowly. This is one of the few questions on the test that is genuinely about physics, not rules.

How to actually learn these

Reading the list once is not enough. The questions are easy to confuse under pressure. Three things work:

Run a full 500-question practice test and note every question in these ten categories that you get wrong.
Drill the targeted mini-tests: fines & demerits, winter driving, parking & intersections, rules of the road.
Take a 30-question timed mock test the night before. Same format as the real thing.

If you want more on how the test is graded and what the examiner sees, our guide on what to expect covers the visit itself. For a sense of where other people lose points, see our hardest questions guide, and for the road signs that keep showing up, the signs cheat sheet.

Practising in another province? We also run free question banks for Ontario G1 and BC Class 7L.