Manitoba Class 5L Numbers Cheat Sheet: Every Figure to Memorize

The Class 5L knowledge test rewards memory, and Manitoba has a few quirks that catch people out. Start with the biggest: Manitoba rates drivers on the Driver Safety Rating (DSR) scale rather than with demerit points. A hand-held device conviction costs 5 levels, while failing or refusing a roadside screening device costs 10. One MPI web page loosely says "5 demerit points", but the handbook, MPI's suspensions page and the Residents Portal all say levels, so the sheet does too.

The second quirk is a real conflict. The handbook, and our question bank, say headlights go on when visibility drops to 60 m. The Vehicle Equipment, Safety and Inspection Regulation (M.R. 31/2019, s. 5.2(2)) says 150 m. The sheet publishes 150 m, marks it single source, and shows the handbook figure beside it so you can see both.

The suspension ladder is fully confirmed by The Highway Traffic Act: 72 hours, 7 days with a child under 16 in the car, then 15, 30 and 60 days for repeat occurrences. Hand-held device suspensions of 3 and 7 days, and the 36-month zero alcohol and drugs rule after reaching the Full stage, also trace back to the Act and its regulations.

Eleven rows are single source. Ten of them rest on the handbook alone, such as the 4 s and 6 s following distances and the 5 m and 15 m railway crossing stops, and the headlight row rests on the regulation alone. The Act sets those crossing distances only for buses and vehicles carrying flammable loads, not ordinary cars.

One figure is left out entirely. The handbook says 2 hours of professional instruction after 4 failed road tests, while MPI's testing page and graduated licensing guide say 5 hours after 3. No statute decides it, so we do not publish a number. Check with MPI before you rely on either one.

Every row is a number our Manitoba questions actually test. Values the test never asks for are not on the sheet.