Vehicle inspection, maintenance and defect awareness
This domain tests the driver's daily responsibility: the walk-around check, the legal minimum standards, the periodic inspection (syn), and what you do when you find something wrong. The law's core statement is simple - a vehicle that is a danger must not be used.
The daily walk-around check
- Tyres: tread depth at least 1.0 mm for goods vehicles over 3,500 kg, correct pressure, no cuts exposing cords, no bulges, no objects between twin tyres, and valve caps present.
- Wheels: loose or missing wheel nuts, cracked rims, and wheel-nut indicators if fitted.
- Lights, reflectors, marker boards, mirrors, wipers, washers and the horn.
- Air leaks, reservoir drainage, brake and ABS/EBS function, and the coupling including the pull test.
- Safety equipment: warning triangle, hi-vis vest, fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, wheel chocks.
- Load securing and the condition of doors, curtains and tarpaulins.
Inspection and records
- Heavy vehicles are subject to periodic inspection; the inspection report travels with the vehicle and is produced at a roadside check.
- Defects found must be reported to the operator and recorded; a defect affecting safety means the vehicle stays parked until it is fixed.
- Maintenance intervals follow the manufacturer's schedule, but the driver's daily check catches most developing faults first.
Worked example - the cut sidewall. During the walk-around you find a deep cut in the sidewall of an inner twin tyre on the drive axle, with cords visible. Reasoning: sidewall damage exposing cords is a structural failure, and an inner twin is exactly the tyre that fails unnoticed at speed. The vehicle is not roadworthy, so you report it, have the tyre replaced, and record the defect. Inflating it or moving it to a less loaded axle would not make it legal.
Traps that cost marks
- Checking only the outer tyre of a twin pair.
- Treating a passing periodic inspection as a substitute for the daily check.
- Continuing with an ABS/EBS or low-pressure warning because the brakes "feel fine".
- Fixing a defect without recording it, which removes the operator's chance to act on a pattern.
First aid, incident handling and environmental driving
The final domain combines three things the examiner treats as one professional standard: what you do in the first minutes at an incident, how you handle the paperwork and the scene afterwards, and how you drive to limit fuel use and emissions.
Securing the scene first
- Stop safely, switch on hazard lights, put on the hi-vis vest before leaving the cab, and place the warning triangle well before the site - around 100 m at motorway speeds.
- Call 112. Give the location, the number of casualties, and any hazard such as a spill or dangerous goods.
- Do not move an injured person unless there is immediate danger such as fire; do not remove a motorcyclist's helmet.
First aid essentials
- Check response and breathing. If breathing but unconscious, use the recovery position (stabilt sideleje) and monitor.
- If not breathing normally, start CPR at 30 compressions to 2 breaths and use an AED as soon as one is available.
- Stop severe bleeding with direct pressure; keep the casualty warm to limit shock; give nothing to eat or drink.
Afterwards
- Exchange details, inform the operator, and report personal injury to the police. Note times, positions and any witnesses, and photograph the scene if it is safe.
Environmental driving
- Eco-driving: anticipate, accelerate progressively, use the retarder and cruise control where appropriate, keep tyres correctly inflated and the engine properly serviced.
- Do not idle unnecessarily - in built-up areas idling is restricted to a few minutes, and cold idling wastes fuel and damages the engine.
- Environmental zones (miljøzoner) in the larger Danish cities require the vehicle to be registered with documented emission class or particulate filter; driving in without it carries a fine.
- AdBlue/SCR systems must be kept topped up; an empty tank can derate the engine.
Worked example - night collision on a rural road. You arrive at a collision: a motorcyclist is lying in the road, unconscious but breathing. Reasoning: your first duty is to prevent a second collision. Hazard lights on, vest on, triangle placed back down the road, 112 called with location and casualty count. Then airway and breathing checks, recovery position, keep warm, and stay with the casualty until the emergency services arrive. Moving the casualty or removing the helmet comes only if there is fire or another immediate danger.
Traps that cost marks
- Starting first aid before the scene is secured.
- Removing a helmet or giving an injured person water.
- Leaving the engine idling during a long wait.
- Entering an environmental zone without the correct registration.