Parking & Stopping Rules — California
California CDL practice test: 392 free practice questions (20 official sample questions · Official driver handbook). The official format is not yet verified; check the official site before your test. Parking & Stopping Rules: 10 questions.
Where you may park, distances from hydrants and crossings, hill parking and disabled permits.
This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines.
| Topic / Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Topic | Parking & Stopping Rules |
| License test | California CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 10 (3% of 392 total) |
| Review status | This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines. |
Official handbook
Not yet verified
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Questions (10)
1. You are about to go down a long, steep, downhill grade in a newer truck. You should:
- use a lower gear than you would use to climb the uphill grade. ✓
- use the same gear you would use to climb the uphill grade.
- use a higher gear than you would use to climb the uphill grade.
Answer: A. use a lower gear than you would use to climb the uphill grade.
You should use a lower gear coming down than you would use to climb that same uphill grade. The handbook explains that the old rule of using the same gear downhill as uphill was for older trucks. Newer trucks have low-friction parts, streamlined shapes, and often stronger engines, so they can climb in higher gears and have less friction and air drag slowing them on the way down. That means a modern truck may need a lower gear downhill than it needed uphill. A low gear increases engine braking, which the handbook calls the main way to control speed and keep brakes from overheating.
2. You should plan ahead when you park your vehicle so that:
- it will be very easy for you to check your vehicle before you get back on the road.
- you are only required to pull forward when you leave. ✓
- you don’t need to back up more than ten feet.
Answer: B. you are only required to pull forward when you leave.
You should park so that, when you leave, you only need to pull forward. The handbook says backing is always dangerous because you cannot see everything behind the vehicle, so you should avoid it whenever possible. Its parking guidance is specific: when you park, try to arrange it so you can pull forward when you leave. That matches the choice about only pulling forward on departure. The handbook does not tie parking plans to an easier pre-trip check or to a ten-foot backing limit.
3. During a basic vehicle control skills test, you may be asked to:
- Swerve to avoid a hazard.
- Parallel park. ✓
- Drive straight into a parking space.
Answer: B. Parallel park.
You may be asked to parallel park during the basic vehicle control skills test. You may be asked to parallel park during the basic vehicle control skills test. The handbook's basic control skills section includes diagrams labeled Parallel Park (Driver Side) and Parallel Park (Conventional), which places parallel parking among the maneuvers in that test. The test is about slow-speed control and judging the vehicle's position, and the listed exercises are forward stopping, straight-line backing, and offset tracking and backing. Nothing in the passages says the examiner will ask you to swerve around a hazard or drive straight into a parking space.
4. To check the automatic transmission fluid level in some vehicles, you will have to:
- Park your vehicle uphill.
- Park your vehicle downhill.
- Leave the vehicle running. ✓
Answer: C. Leave the vehicle running.
You should leave the vehicle running when checking automatic transmission fluid in some vehicles. The handbook's vehicle inspection section lists the automatic transmission fluid level as an item to check, and it notes that this check may require the engine to be running. That matches the answer: in some vehicles, you keep the engine on while you check the fluid. The passages do not link this check to parking uphill or downhill.
5. When completing a driver's side parallel parking maneuver, you should:
- Pull forward directly into the parking space.
- Back up past the parking space, then pull forward into it.
- Pull forward past the parking space, then back into it. ✓
Answer: C. Pull forward past the parking space, then back into it.
Pull forward past the parking space, then back into it. The handbook's backing rules say to start in the proper position, back toward the driver's side whenever possible, and choose parking that lets you pull forward when you leave. Passing the space first and then backing in sets up that start position, keeps the maneuver on the driver's side, and leaves you able to drive out forward later instead of reversing into traffic. Backing is described as always dangerous because you cannot see everything behind you, so the aim is to get the backing done on your terms and keep it out of your exit.
6. When completing an offset back/left parking maneuver, a driver should:
- Pull straight forward, then back to the left. ✓
- Drive straight back, then pull forward to the left.
- Pull straight forward, then drive straight back.
Answer: A. Pull straight forward, then back to the left.
7. When completing an offset back/right parking maneuver, you should:
- Pull straight forward, then drive straight back.
- Drive straight back, then pull forward to the left.
- Pull straight forward, then back to the right. ✓
Answer: C. Pull straight forward, then back to the right.
8. When traveling with Division 1.1 explosives, you may park no closer than ____ from the nearest building.
- 10 feet
- 50 feet
- 300 feet ✓
Answer: C. 300 feet
You may park no closer than 300 feet from the nearest building when traveling with Division 1.1 explosives. The handbook's hazardous materials section says that with Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 explosives you must not park within 300 feet of a bridge, tunnel, building, place where people gather, or open fire. It allows only short stops for things the vehicle needs, such as fueling, and says to park briefly if you must stop to do your job. A building is on that list, so the required separation is 300 feet.
9. When traveling with Division 1.1 explosives, you must park at least ____ from any building.
- 25 feet
- 50 feet
- 300 feet ✓
Answer: C. 300 feet
You must park at least 300 feet from any building when traveling with Division 1.1 explosives. The handbook's parking rule for Division 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 explosives says not to park within 300 feet of a bridge, tunnel, building, a place where people gather, or an open fire, except for short periods needed for vehicle operation. That distance is the minimum the rule gives for a building, so 300 feet matches the bank answer.
10. If your brakes fail while you are traveling downhill and there is no available escape ramp, you should:
- Keep pumping the brakes.
- Turn the vehicle off.
- Drive into an open field. ✓
Answer: C. Drive into an open field.
You should drive into an open field. The handbook says an escape ramp is the best option, but when no ramp is available you should choose the escape route that is least dangerous, such as a field or a side road that levels off or goes uphill. It also says to make that move as soon as you know the brakes do not work, because waiting lets the vehicle speed up and makes stopping harder. Steering into an open field matches that guidance.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Not yet verified
Updated: · 20 official sample questions · Official driver handbook