Wyoming WYDOT CDL General Knowledge Practice Test 2
Test 2 of 5. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 40 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real Wyoming test.
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age18 years
-
1. You are stopped in traffic on a steep upgrade behind another truck. How much space should you leave in front?
Show answer
Answer A: Enough that you can pull away without rolling back into the vehicle behind you
Room ahead lets you get moving smoothly on a grade instead of having to hold the vehicle perfectly still or roll back toward the traffic behind.
-
2. What is normally required in order to move an over-width or over-length load?
Show answer
Answer B: A special permit along with warning devices such as flags and signs
Oversize movements need a permit plus marking devices, and travel is often limited to certain hours or routes.
-
3. A driver snores heavily, stops breathing briefly during the night and is tired all day despite long hours in bed. What should be suspected?
Show answer
Answer B: Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea repeatedly interrupts breathing during sleep, so the driver never gets true rest and stays dangerously drowsy during the day.
-
4. Which Wyoming vehicles must stop at every railroad crossing regardless of whether a warning signal is active?
Show answer
Answer D: A school bus, a vehicle carrying passengers for hire, and a vehicle carrying placarded hazardous cargo
Wyoming statute requires a school bus, a vehicle carrying passengers for hire, and a vehicle carrying cargo required to be placarded to stop at every railroad crossing, using four-way flashers before and after, regardless of whether a signal is active.
-
5. How long must the record of a periodic inspection be kept?
Show answer
Answer A: Fourteen months
The periodic inspection report is retained for fourteen months from the date of the report, which covers the full twelve month cycle plus a margin.
-
6. You are about to back across a quiet street into a driveway. Which of these is good practice before you start to move?
Show answer
Answer B: Turn on the four-way flashers and sound the horn to alert anyone nearby
Warning other road users and pedestrians before a reverse maneuver gives them the chance to stop or move clear before the vehicle starts back.
-
7. You are pulling away from the curb after a delivery. Why is a mirror check needed first?
Show answer
Answer B: A cyclist or a vehicle may be coming up alongside you
Traffic and cyclists can arrive alongside a parked vehicle at any moment, so the mirrors must be checked immediately before pulling out.
-
8. Why is a leak in the exhaust system especially dangerous in cold weather?
Show answer
Answer A: Carbon monoxide can build up inside a closed cab
In winter the windows are shut and the heater is running, so exhaust gas that escapes early can reach the driver and cause drowsiness or worse.
-
9. How much does WYDOT charge to renew a commercial driver license or a commercial learner permit, regardless of class?
Show answer
Answer A: 45 dollars
WYDOT's fee schedule sets 45 dollars as the renewal charge for a commercial driver license or commercial learner permit of any class.
-
10. Which combination of warning devices meets the requirement for a stopped commercial vehicle?
Show answer
Answer A: Three reflective triangles, or six fusees, or three liquid burning flares
A vehicle may carry three bidirectional reflective triangles, six fusees or three liquid burning flares as its warning devices.
-
11. Using the snub braking method on a downgrade, when does the driver release the brakes?
Show answer
Answer A: After speed has dropped about 5 mph below the safe speed
The driver brakes firmly to about 5 mph under the chosen safe speed, releases to let the brakes cool, then repeats when the safe speed returns.
-
12. During the walkaround you find the reflective conspicuity tape along the trailer caked with road grime. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Clean it, because dirty reflective material cannot make the trailer visible at night
Reflective sheeting only works if light can reach it and bounce back, so a dirty strip leaves the trailer effectively unmarked to approaching traffic.
-
13. You press on a drive belt and it deflects far more than the others. What does that suggest?
Show answer
Answer C: The belt is too loose and the part it drives may not work properly
A belt with excessive play slips on its pulleys, so the accessory it drives turns too slowly or not at all under load.
-
14. A fire starts in the cargo area of a van trailer. Why should you keep the doors closed until firefighters arrive?
Show answer
Answer D: Opening the doors lets in air that feeds the fire
A fire in a closed van is starved of oxygen; opening the doors gives it the air it needs to flare up.
-
15. What is the minimum age to hold a Wyoming commercial driver license?
Show answer
Answer B: 18 years
WYDOT states that a person under 18 years of age cannot be issued a Wyoming commercial driver license.
-
16. Besides the hours when the law requires them, when should headlights be switched on?
Show answer
Answer A: Any time visibility is poor, such as in rain, fog or at dusk
Headlights are used to be seen as much as to see, so they belong on whenever light or weather makes the vehicle harder to spot.
-
17. What are the rules for using your turn signal before a turn or lane change?
Show answer
Answer A: Signal early, keep the signal on until the turn is finished, then cancel it
An early, continuous signal tells others what you plan to do; cancelling afterward keeps the signal from misleading them.
-
18. Your brakes are starting to fade on a mountain downgrade and a sign shows an escape ramp one mile ahead. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Plan to use the ramp instead of trying to reach the bottom
Fading brakes on a grade only get worse, and the ramp exists precisely so a driver does not have to gamble on the rest of the descent.
-
19. On a scale, your loaded truck is well under the gross weight limit, but one axle is above the limit for that axle. What does this mean?
Show answer
Answer D: The vehicle is overloaded and the load must be shifted or reduced before you drive on
Each axle and axle group has its own limit and each must be respected; being under the gross limit does not excuse an overloaded axle.
-
20. What can repeated violations of the federal phone and texting rules cost a commercial driver?
Show answer
Answer D: Disqualification of the commercial driver license
Multiple convictions for using a hand-held phone or texting while driving a commercial vehicle lead to disqualification, on top of fines for driver and carrier.
-
21. If an intersection has two lanes marked for left turns, which one should a large vehicle use?
Show answer
Answer D: The right hand of the two turning lanes
The outside turning lane leaves room for the rear of the vehicle to swing without striking a vehicle in the adjacent lane.
-
22. What should be checked about the power steering system in the engine compartment?
Show answer
Answer D: That the fluid level is correct and the hoses and pump are not leaking
Losing power steering fluid means losing steering assistance, which can happen suddenly and makes a heavy vehicle very hard to turn.
-
23. Loading heavy freight on top of lighter freight has what effect on the vehicle?
Show answer
Answer B: It raises the center of gravity and makes a rollover more likely
A high center of gravity lets the vehicle tip more easily in curves or during a sudden swerve.
-
24. At the scale your tractor drive axles are overweight while the trailer axles have room. Sliding the trailer tandems forward will do what?
Show answer
Answer C: Move weight off the drive axles and onto the trailer axles
Sliding the trailer tandems forward brings the rear support closer to the load, so the trailer axles pick up more weight and the drive axles carry less; sliding them rearward does the opposite.
-
25. Your vehicle stalls on a railroad crossing and a train is coming. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Get out at once and move toward the train, well off to one side
Leave the vehicle immediately and move at an angle toward the oncoming train, so that wreckage thrown forward by the impact travels away from you.
-
26. You are not certain that your loaded vehicle will clear a low overpass. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Take another route rather than risk it
There is no safe way to guess at a clearance, and striking a bridge endangers everyone on and under it, so the only correct choice is a different route.
-
27. An angry driver has cut in front of you and is now braking hard to provoke you. What is the safest response?
Show answer
Answer D: Drop back, avoid eye contact and let the driver go
Giving an aggressive driver space and no response removes the conflict, while any answering gesture invites escalation you cannot control in a heavy vehicle.
-
28. A tire may be regrooved only when what is true?
Show answer
Answer B: It carries a marking from the manufacturer showing that it is regroovable
Only casings built with extra rubber under the tread and marked regroovable by the manufacturer may be cut, because others would be grooved into the belts.
-
29. What is the purpose of blocking placed against cargo on a trailer deck?
Show answer
Answer B: To fill the space around the cargo so it cannot slide
Blocking is shaped to fit snugly against the cargo and fastened to the deck, removing the room the load would need in order to move.
-
30. A brake light lens is cracked and the lamp still lights. How should that be treated?
Show answer
Answer B: As a defect, because water can enter and the lamp can dim or fail
A cracked lens lets in water and dirt, which corrodes the socket and dulls the lamp, so it is reported before it becomes a dead brake light.
-
31. You have stopped and a pedestrian is waiting to cross in front of your truck. Why should you not wave the person across?
Show answer
Answer C: Another driver may not stop, and your wave sends the person into danger
You cannot control what drivers in the other lanes will do, so you should not invite a pedestrian into a lane you do not command.
-
32. For a modern truck with low-friction parts and a streamlined shape, which gear should be used going down a grade?
Show answer
Answer D: A gear lower than the one needed to climb the same grade
Newer trucks roll more freely than older ones, so the old rule of using the climbing gear no longer holds; a lower gear is needed for enough engine braking.
-
33. What actually lowers the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream?
Show answer
Answer B: Time
The liver removes alcohol at a fixed rate, so nothing but the passage of time reduces blood alcohol concentration.
-
34. What are you checking when you look at the batteries during the engine compartment inspection?
Show answer
Answer D: That they are securely mounted, the connections are tight and free of corrosion, and the caps are in place
Loose or corroded batteries can fail or short out, so the mount, cables, terminals and vent caps are all part of the check.
-
35. What do the U-bolts on a leaf spring suspension do?
Show answer
Answer A: They clamp the spring assembly to the axle so it cannot move
U-bolts hold the spring pack tight against the axle, and a loose or broken U-bolt lets the axle slide out of place under load.
-
36. You pick up a sealed trailer at a shipper. What should you check before leaving the dock?
Show answer
Answer B: That the seal number matches the paperwork and that the doors are properly closed
You cannot look at a sealed load, but you can confirm that the seal is intact, that its number matches the documents and that the doors are secure.
-
37. A delivery van is stopped in the right lane ahead with its flashers on. What should you expect?
Show answer
Answer C: Someone may step into your lane from in front of it
A stopped delivery vehicle hides the space in front of it, and that is exactly where a person carrying a package is likely to walk out.
-
38. Why is braking while in a curve dangerous in a heavy vehicle?
Show answer
Answer A: The wheels lock more easily and the vehicle can skid
Tires already using their grip to turn have little left for braking, so hard braking in a curve locks the wheels; slow down before the curve instead.
-
39. You have chosen 40 miles per hour as your safe speed for a downgrade. How should the brakes be used?
Show answer
Answer A: Brake firmly to about 35, release, and repeat at 40
Proper technique is firm application to about 5 miles per hour below the safe speed, then full release so the brakes cool before the next application.
-
40. In dense city traffic you cannot see 12 seconds ahead because other vehicles block the view. What is the best response?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow down and open up more space in front of you
When you cannot see far enough ahead, extra following distance buys back the reaction time that the blocked view has taken away.
-
41. A dispatcher tells you to take a trailer you believe is loaded badly enough to be unsafe. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Refuse to move it until the load has been made safe
The driver may not operate a vehicle whose cargo is not properly distributed and secured, and an instruction from an employer does not change that.
-
42. Who must sign a driver vehicle inspection report?
Show answer
Answer D: The driver who prepared it
The report is the driver statement about the condition of the vehicle at the end of the day, so the driver signs it.
-
43. How does the working load limit of a tiedown relate to the force that would break it?
Show answer
Answer B: The working load limit is a fraction of the breaking strength and is the figure you use
The working load limit is set well below the point at which the device would fail, and securement is always calculated from the working load limit, never from breaking strength.
-
44. What is the purpose of an escape ramp on a mountain grade?
Show answer
Answer C: To stop a runaway vehicle without injuring the driver
Escape ramps use soft material or a steep upgrade to bring a vehicle with failed brakes to a controlled stop.
-
45. When should a driver select the gear for a long, steep downgrade?
Show answer
Answer B: Before starting down the grade
The low gear has to be chosen before the descent, because a heavy vehicle gaining speed may refuse to shift down at all.
-
46. You are hauling a load of steel plate that is well within every weight limit but is stacked five feet high on a flatbed. What is the main concern?
Show answer
Answer A: The center of gravity is high, so the rig will roll more easily in a curve
Legal weight does not make a load safe; height raises the center of gravity and it is height, not weight alone, that decides how readily the vehicle rolls over.
-
47. Most rollovers of loaded trucks on exit and entrance ramps happen for which reason?
Show answer
Answer B: The ramp was taken faster than the load could tolerate
A posted ramp speed is set for cars, and a loaded trailer with a high center of gravity can roll at a speed a car would take easily.
-
48. What must the driver check about the seat belt during the inspection?
Show answer
Answer A: That it is securely mounted, adjusts properly and is not ripped or frayed
A belt only restrains the driver if its anchorage is sound and the webbing is intact, so mounting and condition are both checked.
-
49. What should you do before backing into a space you have not used before?
Show answer
Answer A: Get out and walk around to check the path, the clearance and any obstacles
Walking the area first reveals low obstructions, soft ground and objects that never appear in the mirrors.
-
50. What must the motor carrier do about a defect listed on a driver vehicle inspection report?
Show answer
Answer D: Repair it, or certify that repair is not needed, before the vehicle is dispatched again
A reported defect must be corrected, or certified as not needing correction, and that certification is what the next driver reads before taking the vehicle.