Vehicle Inspection and Vehicle Control
This domain tests the pre-trip inspection you must perform on a passenger-carrying commercial vehicle and the control skills examiners watch on the range. For the Colorado CDL passenger endorsement, expect inspection items that do not appear on a straight truck: emergency exits, passenger-compartment fittings, and door operation.
What to inspect
- Exterior: tires (tread depth, sidewalls, dual spacing), wheels, rims, lug nuts, lights, mirrors, windshield, wipers, horn.
- Engine compartment: fluid levels, belts, hoses, leaks.
- Brake system: on an air-brake bus, perform the static leak, applied leak, low-pressure warning, and spring-brake pop-out checks. On a hydraulic bus, check pedal feel and fluid level.
- Passenger compartment: seats secure, handrails intact, stepwells clean, aisle clear, emergency exits open and close from inside and outside, exit markings visible, fire extinguisher charged and mounted, seat belts present.
- Doors: open and close smoothly; warning buzzer or interlock works if equipped.
Control skills
- Off-tracking: rear wheels cut inside the front path. Swing wide on turns but check mirrors so you do not hit a curb or vehicle.
- Backing: use a spotter and GOAL (get out and look) when needed.
- Smooth stops: brake early and progressively; standing passengers lose balance with jerky braking.
- Do not move until doors are closed and passengers are seated or secure.
Worked example
During pre-trip, you open the rear emergency door. It opens freely but will not latch closed. The bus is scheduled for 40 passengers. What should you do? The defect makes the bus out of service. Emergency exits must both open freely and latch securely; a door that will not latch can swing open in motion. You document the defect, notify dispatch, and do not carry passengers until it is repaired. If the door would not open at all, the result is the same.
Traps that cost marks
Inspecting only the exterior and skipping passenger-compartment items; not operating the exit from inside; forgetting the fire-extinguisher gauge and pin; assuming an air-brake test is identical to a truck's; missing stepwell lights, seat security, or aisle obstructions. Examiners also watch whether you check mirrors and blind spots during control maneuvers, not just whether you avoid cones.