CSCS Site Transport & Traffic Management Questions
Mobile plant, vehicle movements and pedestrian routes.
Site Transport & Traffic Management — practice questions (untimed, instant feedback)
- 5 questions · pass mark 90%
- Untimed practice — you see the correct answer immediately after each question.
- Some questions need more than one answer — these are clearly marked.
All 5 Site Transport & Traffic Management questions and answers
These are the same 5 questions as the practice test above, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. On a construction site, what is a banksman's main job?
Answer: Directing and guiding vehicle movements
- A) Operating the machinery
- B) Directing and guiding vehicle movements (correct answer)
- C) Managing deliveries to site
- D) Overseeing all health and safety procedures
Why: A banksman signals and guides vehicle movements to keep pedestrians and plant apart.
2. When should a reversing alarm on a site vehicle be used?
Answer: Every time the vehicle reverses, unless a banksman is directing it
- A) Only at night
- B) Every time the vehicle reverses, unless a banksman is directing it (correct answer)
- C) Only in bad weather
- D) Only when the vehicle has no mirrors
Why: Reversing alarms warn nearby workers whenever a vehicle reverses, unless a banksman controls the movement.
3. What should be done about poorly lit site transport routes?
Answer: Report it and set up temporary lighting
- A) Drive on slowly and carefully
- B) Report it and set up temporary lighting (correct answer)
- C) Only run vehicles in daylight
- D) Depend on the vehicle headlights
Why: Poorly lit routes must be reported and fixed with temporary lighting.
4. Why should a construction site have marked pedestrian routes?
Answer: To keep people and vehicles apart and avoid collisions
- A) To make the site look better
- B) To get the work done faster
- C) To keep people and vehicles apart and avoid collisions (correct answer)
- D) To raise noise levels
Why: Separating people from vehicles reduces the risk of collisions.
5. What is a common danger when operating plant on uneven ground?
Answer: The machine tipping over
- A) Higher fuel use
- B) Slower operation
- C) The machine tipping over (correct answer)
- D) Harder steering
Why: Uneven ground makes plant unstable and increases the risk of it overturning.
What this topic covers in the CSCS test
People are killed by vehicles and mobile plant on construction sites every year, and HSE is clear about the cause: the majority of construction transport accidents result from inadequate separation of pedestrians and vehicles. Nearly every question here is asking the same thing in a different way, which is how you keep people and machines apart. The law behind it is regulation 27 of CDM 2015.
- Separating people from vehicles with separate gates, walkways, crossing points and barriers
- Why reversing is avoided, and how one-way systems and turning circles reduce it
- The banksman or signaller, and the need to be trained and authorised
- Reversing aids: mirrors, CCTV, alarms, lighting and high-visibility clothing
- Driver competence, site induction and instructions for visiting drivers
- Plant stability, roll-over protection, seat belts and uneven ground
- Reporting poor lighting, blocked walkways and broken road surfaces
Key facts worth memorising
- Separation is the main control
- HSE says most construction transport accidents come from inadequate separation of pedestrians and vehicles, which is why marked walkways and signed, lit crossings matter more than any single warning device.
- Reversing is a major cause of fatal accidents
- HSE says the need to reverse should be avoided where possible, and suggests one-way systems and turning circles so vehicles can turn without reversing.
- Signallers must be trained and authorised
- People who direct vehicle movements must be trained and authorised to do it, and marshallers appointed to control manoeuvres must be trained in that task.
- Over 60% of dumper deaths are overturns
- HSE reports that over 60% of dumper deaths involve the driver being crushed when the machine overturns, and most of the rest happen when a pedestrian is struck by a moving dumper.
- Seat belts keep you inside the roll-over protection
- Dumpers should have roll-over protection and drivers should wear the belt, because the belt is what holds the operator inside the zone that structure protects.
- Wheel stops at excavation edges
- HSE says to fit wheel stops a safe distance from the edges of excavations and pits, and not to park plant close to an excavation side because the extra loading can bring it down.
What people get wrong
A reversing alarm means it is safe to be behind the vehicle.
The alarm is a warning, not a control. It sits alongside mirrors and CCTV as a visibility aid, and reversing is still a major cause of fatal accidents. Get out of the vehicle route rather than relying on the driver.
Anyone can wave a lorry back if the driver cannot see.
Only trained and authorised people may direct vehicle movements. Stepping in to signal a reversing vehicle without that training puts you in the most dangerous place on site.
A small dumper does not need a seat belt.
Overturning is the biggest killer in dumper incidents, and the belt is the only thing keeping the driver inside the roll-over protection. Fastening it behind you and sitting on it defeats the point.
High-visibility clothing keeps you safe on a vehicle route.
High-vis helps a driver see you, and pedestrians on site should wear it, but it is the last layer. What works is never being in the same place as the vehicle: separate routes, barriers and proper crossings.
Answering these questions in the test
Ask which option puts distance between a person and a moving machine. That option is nearly always the answer. Be suspicious of anything that depends on a driver noticing you, on eye contact, or on a warning device doing its job, because those are what fail in real incidents. Poor conditions have a standard answer too: if a route is badly lit, blocked or breaking up, you report it so it gets fixed or lit, you do not work around it.
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.
Topics that come up alongside site transport & traffic management
Ready for the real thing?
When you are scoring 90% or better here, take a timed 50-question mock under exam conditions, then book your CITB HS&E test.