Warning signs
Deer or other large animals may cross here, especially at dawn and dusk.
Slow down and scan the roadsides, especially around dawn and dusk when animals are most active.
The shape is almost always a yellow diamond with a black border and a black symbol or arrow. The one exception in this set is the railway advance sign, which is a yellow circle with a black X, kept round on purpose so it stands out from the diamonds around it well before you reach the tracks.
A warning sign tells you about a hazard or an unusual condition ahead so you can adjust your speed and attention before you reach it. It is advice rather than a command with its own penalty, though ignoring it can put you in a position where another rule then applies.
11 questions in our banks show this sign and ask what it requires. Here are 6, each with the answer marked and the authority it rests on.
This sign is posted along a rural road and you are driving at dusk. What is the sensible response?
Slow down, scan the shoulders, and expect more than one animal
Deer move most at dawn and dusk and they rarely travel alone, so the one that crossed in front of you is often not the last. If a collision cannot be avoided, braking hard in your own lane is safer than swerving into oncoming traffic or a ditch.
Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)This sign is posted on a highway and you are driving at dusk when an animal steps into your lane. What should you do?
Brake firmly in a straight line and stay in your own lane
Most of the serious injuries in animal collisions come from the swerve rather than the animal, because the vehicle either leaves the road or meets oncoming traffic. Brake hard in your own lane, and keep looking, since these animals travel in groups and where one has crossed another usually follows.
Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia)On a stretch of road marked with this sign, an animal crosses in front of you and reaches the far shoulder. What should you expect next?
More animals may follow the first one across
These animals travel in groups, so the one you see is often the first of several, and the ones behind cross without pausing at the edge. Slow right down and keep watching both shoulders until you are well past. Dawn and dusk are when this sign earns its place, because that is when the animals move and your eyes are at their worst.
Alberta Driver's Guide (Government of Alberta)This sign is posted on a highway you are driving at dusk in autumn, and a deer crosses the road well ahead of you. What is the sensible next move?
Slow down and keep scanning the shoulders, because deer usually travel in groups
Where one deer crosses, more are usually following, and the second one arrives just as a driver has relaxed. Dawn and dusk are when they move most, and their eyes catch your headlights before their bodies are visible. Braking in a straight line beats swerving, because a swerve at highway speed puts you in the other lane or off the road.
Highway Safety Code (Quebec)You are riding a rural road at dusk when this sign appears. What is the real difference between meeting a deer on a bike and meeting one in a car?
A car body absorbs the strike and a rider does not, so scanning early and cutting speed is the whole defence
An animal stepping out leaves you very little time and almost no room, and there is nothing between it and you. Riding at a speed you can stop within the distance you can actually see, and watching the verges rather than the middle of the road, is what buys the second you need.
Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)You meet this sign at dusk on a rural road, and an animal steps out of the ditch into your lane a good distance ahead.
Brake hard in a straight line with the bike upright and let the animal move
Braking and swerving both want the same grip, and asking for the two together is how a rider ends up on the road before reaching the animal. Straight line braking with the bike upright gives you the most stopping power available and buys the animal time to finish crossing. Slowing hard early also leaves you the option of steering later, once the speed is down.
Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia)The other 5 sit in the signs drills, which ask sign questions on their own with the reason for every answer.
Counted from the questions written for each province when the site is built, not typed by hand.
2 questions: 1 on the G1 knowledge test, 1 on the M1 knowledge test
3 questions: 1 on the ICBC knowledge test, 1 on the Motorcycle knowledge test, 1 on the Class 1 knowledge test
4 questions: 2 on the Class 7 knowledge test, 1 on the Class 6 knowledge test, 1 on the Class 4 knowledge test
2 questions: 1 on the SAAQ knowledge test, 1 on the Motorcycle knowledge test
Signs that share this one's shape and colour rule, and are easy to confuse with it under a clock.
A road crosses ahead; watch for entering traffic.
The road you are on ends ahead; you must turn left or right.
The road curves ahead; slow down before you enter the curve.
A series of curves is ahead; adjust your speed before the first one.
A stop sign is ahead but may be hard to see in time; start slowing now.
Traffic lights are ahead; be ready to stop if they change.
Deer or other large animals may cross here, especially at dawn and dusk. Slow down and scan the roadsides, especially around dawn and dusk when animals are most active.
It is a warning sign. A warning sign tells you about a hazard or an unusual condition ahead so you can adjust your speed and attention before you reach it. It is advice rather than a command with its own penalty, though ignoring it can put you in a position where another rule then applies.
It appears in the Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec practice banks on this site: 2 in Ontario, 3 in British Columbia, 4 in Alberta, 2 in Quebec. Every question is original prose citing Highway Traffic Act (Ontario), Motor Vehicle Act (British Columbia), Alberta Driver's Guide (Government of Alberta) and Highway Safety Code (Quebec).
The meaning and the action are the standard ones taught across Canada. Each question above cites the law or the guide it rests on, and the exam facts on the province pages come from the records below.
Ontario Ministry of Transportation, G1 licensing rules and DriveTest fee schedule
Verified 2026-08-27
DriveTest, Knowledge Tests (Serco Canada Inc., the ministry appointed driver examination provider)
Verified 2026-08-28
Fees read from the DriveTest fee list on the same date.
ICBC published graduated licensing and knowledge test information
Verified 2026-08-27
ICBC, Before you take your knowledge test (form MV2654)
Verified 2026-08-28
Fees read from the ICBC fee list on the same date.
Government of Alberta published Class 7 licensing and knowledge test information
Verified 2026-08-27
Government of Alberta, Get a Class 6 motorcycle driver licence
Verified 2026-08-28
Question count and pass mark read from the Alberta driver knowledge test page on the same date.
Government of Alberta, Obtaining a commercial licence
Verified 2026-08-28
Question count and pass mark read from the Alberta driver knowledge test page on the same date, and the ride for hire rule from the Alberta ride for hire services page.
SAAQ published licensing, driving course and knowledge test information
Verified 2026-08-27
SAAQ, Obtaining a Motorcycle Driver's Licence (Classes 6A, 6B and 6C)
Verified 2026-08-28
Read through an Internet Archive copy of the SAAQ page captured on 2026-08-13, because the SAAQ turns away visitors from outside Canada. The French page is cited because it is the version the SAAQ updates first.