CSCS Highway Works (Specialist) Questions
Specialist highway works test topic questions.
These questions cover highway works (specialist) for the CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test, the exam UK construction workers pass to get a CSCS card.
Highway Works (Specialist): practice quiz
- 20 questions · 30 minutes · pass mark 90%
- Answers and explanations are shown at the end, with every question to review.
- A fresh 20 questions every time, drawn from all 113 in this topic's bank. Includes 2 select-two questions, as in the real test.
- About 90 seconds a question, against about 54 in the real test, so there is time to think.
10 sample Highway Works (Specialist) questions and answers
These 10 come from the 113 questions the practice quiz above draws from, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. Which roads does the Safety at Street Works and Road Works Code of Practice apply to?
Answer: All highways except motorways and dual carriageways of 50 mph or more
- A) All highways except motorways and dual carriageways of 50 mph or more (correct answer)
- B) Only motorways and the trunk roads that are run by the national highway body
- C) Only local streets with a permanent speed limit of 30 mph or below
- D) Any road in the country, including works taking place on the motorways
Why: The Code states that it applies to all highways and roads except motorways and any dual carriageway with a speed limit of 50 mph or more. Guidance for those faster roads is in Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual instead, so using the Code there would leave the layout short of the required standard.
2. What must the information board at a street works site show?
Answer: The organisation, any principal contractor and an emergency number
- A) The names and card numbers of the operatives working on the site
- B) The permit reference and the depth of the excavation being opened
- C) The dates of the highway authority's next planned site inspection
- D) The organisation, any principal contractor and an emergency number (correct answer)
Why: The Information board section requires the name of the organisation undertaking the works, any principal contractor and an emergency contact telephone number. A board must be displayed at every site except mobile, short duration and minor works without excavation.
3. How often should an unattended street works site in England be checked?
Answer: Every day including weekends, unless risk assessment says otherwise
- A) Only when the works team next returns to carry on with the job
- B) Every four hours right through the period the site is unmanned
- C) Every day including weekends, unless risk assessment says otherwise (correct answer)
- D) Every seven days, unless the site risk assessment calls for more often
Why: The Code says you should carry out a site check every day, including at weekends, unless your risk assessment deems this unnecessary, and that if nobody will visit the next day you must agree the next visit with your supervisor.
4. What is the legal effect of complying with a code of practice approved under section 65 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991?
Answer: You are taken to comply with the statutory duty in section 65(1)
- A) You get a discount on the fine if the works are later prosecuted in court
- B) You are taken to comply with the statutory duty in section 65(1) (correct answer)
- C) You gain a defence only if the street authority has agreed to it first
- D) You are exempt from the whole of Part 3 of the 1991 Act itself
Why: Section 65(3)(a) says that so far as an undertaker complies with such a code of practice he shall be taken to comply with subsection (1). Paragraph (b) is the mirror image: a failure to comply with the code is evidence of failure to comply with the duty.
5. What does Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual say about trailers in temporary traffic management work?
Answer: They must not be used for operations that involve any reversing
- A) They must not be used for operations that involve any reversing (correct answer)
- B) They must not be used unless a trained signaller is watching them
- C) They must not be used on roads with a posted speed limit above 40 mph
- D) They must not be used unless fitted with amber beacons at the rear
Why: Paragraph O5.9.10 states that trailers shall not be used for temporary traffic management operations which involve reversing. Reversing a trailer beside live traffic lanes puts the driver's blind side towards moving vehicles.
6. Apart from works between parked vehicles, what must be in place before any works equipment is put in the carriageway?
Answer: Advance signing, set out for traffic approaching from every direction
- A) A completed reinstatement record for the last excavation at the site
- B) Written approval of the whole traffic layout from the local police station
- C) A works vehicle parked across the lane with its amber beacons lit
- D) Advance signing, set out for traffic approaching from every direction (correct answer)
Why: The Code requires advance signing before any works equipment goes into the carriageway, with signs set out for traffic from all directions; works between parked vehicles are the stated exception (Part 2, Advance signing).
7. A conspicuous works vehicle is parked in front of the working space for protection. Is a traffic barrier still needed?
Answer: Yes, in front of the vehicle, and replaced if the vehicle moves away
- A) Yes, but placed behind the vehicle, between it and the working space
- B) Only if the speed limit on that stretch of road is 40 mph or more
- C) Yes, in front of the vehicle, and replaced if the vehicle moves away (correct answer)
- D) No, the vehicle replaces the barrier while its beacons stay switched on
Why: A traffic barrier is still required when a conspicuous works vehicle protects the working space; it goes in front of the vehicle and must be replaced if the vehicle is removed (Part 2, Works vehicle note).
8. A road is fully closed for works. What does the Code say about pedestrian access to homes and premises in the closure?
Answer: It must never be completely denied to any property or premises
- A) It may be denied while plant is working, provided a banksman is on site
- B) It must never be completely denied to any property or premises (correct answer)
- C) It may be denied for up to 24 hours if residents are told in writing
- D) It may be denied if vehicle access to the properties is kept open
Why: The Code states that under no circumstances may pedestrian access be completely denied to any property or premises, even when a road is closed (Part 2, Temporary closure of a carriageway to traffic).
9. Chapter 8 says a temporary mandatory speed limit is needed where the lateral safety clearance on a single carriageway has to be reduced. Is the temporary limit on its own enough?
Answer: No, physical measures such as chicanes or traffic control must back it up
- A) No, physical measures such as chicanes or traffic control must back it up (correct answer)
- B) Yes, a signed temporary limit is enough because drivers are legally bound to obey it
- C) Yes, provided the speed limit signs are lit by warning lights at night time
- D) No, a police officer must be on site for the whole time the works last
Why: Chapter 8 says the temporary limit must be put in place using physical safety measures such as chicanes, temporary ramps or traffic control, and that relying solely on the temporary mandatory limit is not sufficient (para O3.2.2).
10. On high-speed roads, which temporary sign should be put out while the advance signs and cone taper are being set out?
Answer: WORKFORCE IN ROAD SLOW, on the near side before the first crossing point
- A) END OF ROAD WORKS, on the far side after the last crossing point
- B) ROAD CLOSED, across all of the lanes before the first crossing point
- C) CAUTION LORRIES TURNING, at each works access along the whole length of road
- D) WORKFORCE IN ROAD SLOW, on the near side before the first crossing point (correct answer)
Why: During the initial setting out on high-speed roads, Chapter 8 says a WORKFORCE IN ROAD SLOW sign should be placed on the near side before the first crossing point, and removed as soon as setting out is done (para O3.6.3).
What this topic covers in the CSCS test
Highway works is a CITB specialist test that adds road and street works questions to the five core Operatives topics. The governing document is Safety at Street Works and Road Works: A Code of Practice, the Red Book, issued under section 65 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. It covers all roads except motorways and dual carriageways at 50 mph or more. For those, and for further guidance generally, the Code points you to Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual, which it describes as authoritative advice that does not itself have the status of a Code of Practice under the Act.
- Signing, lighting and guarding: advance signs, tapers, cones, barriers and warning lights
- Site layout: works area, working space and safety zone, and what belongs in each
- High-visibility clothing classes and other PPE for working near live traffic
- Traffic control: give and take, priority signs, Stop/Go boards and portable signals
- Looking after pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and disabled users
- Qualifications for street works operatives and supervisors
Key facts worth memorising
- The safety zone is not a work area
- Do not enter the safety zone in the normal course of work, and never place materials, equipment or vehicles in it. It protects you from traffic and traffic from you.
- Class 2 or 3, Class 3 on high-speed roads
- Chapter 8 requires high-visibility clothing at all times on site, to Class 2 or 3, and Class 3 with full-length sleeves on motorways and other high-speed roads.
- One metre for pedestrians
- In no circumstances may footway width be reduced below 1.0 metre. If you cannot maintain that, stop and consult your supervisor.
- Warning lights from 40 mph up
- Works on roads of 40 mph or more need warning lights lit in poor visibility or darkness, no more than 1.5 metres above the road at 40 mph or less and 1.2 metres at 50 mph or more.
- Traffic control has limits
- Give and take suits roads up to 30 mph with 50 metres of cones at most, priority signs up to 80 metres, manually rotated Stop/Go boards up to 500 metres, and portable signals up to 300 metres with highway authority permission. Remotely controlled Stop/Go boards are limited to 200 metres apart and to daylight hours.
- A qualified operative at all times
- NRSWA requires at least one operative on site whose qualifications match the work whenever street works are in progress, plus a qualified supervisor, who need not be present throughout.
What people get wrong
The safety zone is a handy place to stack cones, spoil or the van.
It is not. Materials, equipment and vehicles must not be placed there. Tools, spoil and plant belong in the working space.
Any high-visibility vest will do on the road.
Chapter 8 sets the class: 2 or 3, and Class 3 with full-length sleeves on high-speed roads. It must be clean, fastened and serviceable, and damaged garments replaced.
Get the signs out first and sort the layout afterwards.
The distances, including safety zone dimensions, are worked out first from the table in the Code for that road and speed limit. Advance signing must be in place before any works equipment goes in the carriageway.
A Stop/Go board is fine at night as long as the site is lit.
Chapter 8 requires each sign face to be lit by its own source of light, says reflectorised material alone is not sufficient, and states that it is unlawful to use Stop/Go boards at night unless they are directly lit.
Answering these questions in the test
Two habits carry you through most of these questions. First, the road decides the layout, not convenience: road type and speed limit set the sign sizes, distances, taper and safety zone, and you look them up before you unload. Second, keep the working space and the safety zone separate in your head, because confusing the two causes more wrong answers than anything else here. Failure to follow the Code is evidence of failing the legal duty to sign, light and guard works, so a short job is never an excuse.
Sources
Written from the following. Where a figure could not be verified against one of these, it has been left out rather than approximated. Our sources and methodology explains how we date and re-check them. Spotted something wrong? Report an error and we will fix it.
- gov.uk/government/publications/safety-at-street-works-and-road-works
- assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d8038e5274a676d532707/safety-at-streetworks.pdf
- assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7cc632e5274a38e5756aa3/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-08-part-02.pdf
- gov.uk/government/publications/street-works-qualifications-in-england/street-works-qualifications-in-england-guidance-for-operatives-and-supervisors
- citb.co.uk/courses-tests/health-safety-and-environment-hse-test/specialist-test
Topics that come up alongside highway works (specialist)
Ready for the real thing?
When you are scoring 90% or better here, take a CSCS mock test for Operatives under exam conditions, then how to book the CSCS test. Still under 90%? Pick another topic from the free CSCS practice test.