Iowa DOT CDL warm-up test

1. How long is an Iowa commercial driver disqualified after a first railroad grade crossing violation committed in a commercial vehicle?

• A Thirty days
• B One year
• C Sixty days
• D One hundred twenty days

2. Why does the commercial driver manual tell you to look far down the road instead of only at the vehicle ahead?

• A So you can hold a steady engine speed and save fuel on every trip
• B So you no longer need to check the mirrors while moving with traffic
• C So you can safely follow more closely than the seconds rule requires
• D So you can adjust smoothly instead of braking hard at the last moment

3. Regular mirror checks during a long trip can reveal which developing problem?

• A A drop in the reading of the engine oil pressure gauge
• B A slow loss of pressure in the air brake supply tank
• C A fault inside the antilock brake system control module
• D Smoke coming from a tire or from a wheel

4. What should you do before backing into a space you have not used before?

• A Get out and walk around to check the path, the clearance and any obstacles
• B Rely only on the mirrors and the reversing camera so the maneuver takes less time
• C Back at a higher speed to keep momentum through the turn
• D Ask a bystander to hold traffic at both ends of the lot while you reverse

5. Which lights should be used in fog, by day or by night?

• A Low beams and fog lights, together with the four-way flashers
• B High beams, so the light carries farther through the water droplets
• C Marker lamps only
• D No lights at all, so glare from the fog does not build up ahead

6. You are pulling away from a curb in a 65 foot combination. Besides traffic, what must you watch?

• A The tachometer, which must stay below half of its range until you are clear
• B The trailer wheels, which stay close to the curb and can strike it or an object on it
• C The steer tires, which will scrub badly unless the wheel is held perfectly straight
• D The mirrors on the passenger side only, since the driver side is already in view

7. Why does a driver use pull-ups while backing into a tight space?

• A To let the brakes and the clutch cool down between attempts at the loading dock
• B To keep the engine from stalling
• C To pull forward and start the approach again when the angle is going wrong
• D To give the traffic following you a chance to pass the vehicle

8. During the walkaround you notice one tire on an axle is a radial and the tire next to it is bias-ply. What should you do?

• A Continue, because mixing tire types on one axle is acceptable as long as both are inflated to the same pressure
• B Treat it as a defect, because radial and bias-ply tires must not be mixed on the same axle
• C Continue, because the rule against mixing tire types applies only to the steering axle of a bus
• D Swap the two tires to the rear axle, where mixed construction is permitted on dual wheels

9. You are driving past a park where children are playing close to the curb. What is the correct assumption?

• A A child may run into the street without looking
• B Children in a group will always stay together on the sidewalk
• C An adult nearby will always stop a child before the curb line
• D Children will hear a large engine and keep clear of the roadway

10. What does the federal bridge formula do?

• A It sets the maximum length of a trailer and of the whole combination on the Interstate
• B It converts axle weight into the tire pressure each position needs
• C It reduces the weight allowed on a group of axles as those axles get closer together
• D It fixes the number of tiedowns a load needs