Vehicle Inspection and Safe Driving Skills
The inspection is a test in itself
You will perform a pre-trip inspection, and the examiner grades how you look, not just what you say. Walk the vehicle in a fixed order and name each item: engine compartment (fluid levels, belts, hoses, steering, exhaust, leaks), then front axle (tire tread, cracks, knots, rim, hub, brakes, slack adjusters, suspension), then the coupling system, then lights and reflectors, then rear axles and cargo securement. Remember the three-part brake check: leakage test, low-pressure warning test, and applied/parking brake test. Do an en-route check of tires, brakes, lights, and cargo after the first stretch of driving, and a post-trip report.
Safe driving skills
- Space cushion: maintain following distance using the one-second-per-10-feet rule and add time in poor weather.
- Hazard perception: identify the hazard, decide the response, and act early.
- Work zones: slow to the posted limit, increase following distance, watch for flaggers.
- Night driving: reduce speed so you can stop within the distance your headlights reveal.
- Emergencies: brake firmly and steadily, steer where you want to go, and escape the roadway rather than risk a head-on crash.
Traps
Examiners and question writers punish skipped steps: not checking slack adjusters, not testing lights with a helper, forgetting cargo securement devices, and assuming a tire that holds air is a good tire. Tread depth matters - 4/32 inch on front tires, 2/32 inch elsewhere.
Rule of thumb
If you did not look at it, touch it, or operate it, you cannot say it passed.