CDL case studies
CDL · Put your knowledge to work in context.
A Commercial Driver's License (CDL) is a credential that authorizes you to operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) on public roads. Driving a CMV demands a higher level of knowledge, experience, skills, and physical ability than driving a non-commercial vehicle, and CDL holders are held to a higher standard whenever they operate any type of motor vehicle on public roads. The CDL case studies are 5 cases and about 4,294 words.
1The 45-Second Leak Test Nobody Wants to Read
At 04:40 a tractor-semitrailer sits chocked on a level lot, engine off, parking brakes released. The driver has just built pressure to the governor cut-out at 125 psi.
763 words, about 4 min2Over on Three Axles With Nowhere to Slide
At a weigh station a five-axle tractor-semitrailer reads: steering axle 11,850 lb, drive tandem 34,180 lb, trailer tandem 34,270 lb, gross 80,300 lb. The door plate shows a steering axle rating of 12,000 lb, drive tandem 34,000 lb, trailer tandem 34,000 lb, and a gross vehicle weight rating of 80,000 lb.
809 words, about 4 min3The Clank That Wasn't a Coupling
At 03:00 a driver backs under a loaded 53-foot van at a dock, hears the fifth-wheel jaws clank shut, and connects the red emergency and blue service gladhands. She sets the trailer parking brakes and does a pull test in low gear; the rig creeps forward about 18 inches before stopping.
925 words, about 5 min4Twenty-Five Pounds and a Tunnel
At a distributor a driver loads: 700 lb of a Class 3 flammable liquid (PG III), 400 lb of a Class 8 corrosive (PG II), 500 lb of a Division 2.2 non-flammable gas, and one 25-lb cylinder of a Division 6.1 PG I material that carries the inhalation hazard notation. The first three are Table 2 entries; the PG I material is a Table 1 entry.
942 words, about 5 min5Three Hundred and Eighty Miles Left at Half Past One
A 47-passenger motorcoach leaves the terminal at 06:00 with 42 passengers on a charter. The driver reported on duty at 05:30.
855 words, about 4 min