China Driving Subject 4 (Small Car) study guide
China Driving Subject 4 (Small Car) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Subject 4 Safety and Civilized Driving Knowledge Test (科目四) is the final written step for candidates in China seeking a small-car driving licence (C1 or C2). It assesses whether you can think like a safe, law-abiding driver: how you scan for hazards, handle emergencies, understand road signs and signals, and apply traffic law and civilised-driving norms. The China Driving Subject 4 (Small Car) study guide has 7 sections and about 3,035 words.
01Safe and Civilized Driving Operations (安全文明驾驶操作)
This domain tests the routine operating decisions a small-car driver makes every minute: moving off, changing lanes, overtaking, meeting oncoming traffic, turning, parking and using lights. Subject 4 rarely asks for a bare definition - it places you in a scene and asks what the safe and lawful action is.
498 words, about 2 min02Emergency Handling and Accident Response (紧急情况避险与事故处置)
This domain tests the first ten seconds of a failure or a crash. Questions are graded on the order of actions and on not making a bad situation worse: the right answer usually starts with control of the vehicle and ends with warning other traffic.
458 words, about 2 min03Traffic Regulations and Legal Liability (交通法规与法律责任)
This domain is the arithmetic of the written test: blood-alcohol thresholds, demerit points, licence consequences and the tiers of criminal liability. Questions are usually numbers, so precision matters more than general understanding.
415 words, about 2 min04Road Signs, Markings and Traffic Signals (交通标志、标线与信号)
This domain is recognition plus priority. Two question families dominate: what does this mean, and what must you do here.
403 words, about 2 min05Vehicle Knowledge and Daily Maintenance (机动车常识与日常维护)
This domain tests pre-drive checks, warning lights and the physics of passive safety systems. It is factual recall, so the marks come from exact numbers and from understanding what a system does and does not do.
413 words, about 2 min06Defensive Driving and Hazard Perception (防御性驾驶与危险预判)
This domain tests whether you can read a scene before it becomes an emergency. The exam rewards the driver who has already slowed down, built a gap and chosen an escape route, not the one who reacts perfectly at the last moment.
415 words, about 2 min07Civilized Driving Ethics and Driver Psychology (文明驾驶与驾驶人心理)
This domain covers courtesy that is also law, and the psychological states that produce crashes. The questions look soft, but the answer is always the option that yields, waits or de-escalates.
433 words, about 2 min