Vehicle Equipment & Safe Operation — 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. Vehicle Equipment & Safe Operation: 160 questions.
Brakes, tires, lights, mirrors, seat belts, child seats and basic vehicle control.
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 | Vehicle Equipment & Safe Operation |
| License test | California CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 160 (41% 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
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Questions (160)
1. A pre-trip inspection should be completed:
- at least once a week.
- if any problems occurred the last the time the vehicle was operated.
- before operating the vehicle. ✓
Answer: C. before operating the vehicle.
A pre-trip inspection should be completed before operating the vehicle. The handbook says CDL drivers are required to inspect their vehicle to determine whether it is safe to drive, and that this inspection helps find problems or defects that could cause a breakdown or crash. Since the point is to confirm the vehicle is safe before it is used, the inspection belongs before you operate it. The handbook also separates this from the after-trip inspection done at the end of the trip, day, or tour of duty.
2. A broken exhaust system is dangerous because:
- Exhaust noise will damage the driver’s ears.
- Toxic fumes and gasses could enter the cab or sleeper berth. ✓
- The leaking exhaust smoke pollutes the air.
Answer: B. Toxic fumes and gasses could enter the cab or sleeper berth.
A broken exhaust system is dangerous because toxic fumes and gases could enter the cab or sleeper berth. The handbook's inspection guidance says a broken exhaust system can send poisonous fumes inside the cab or sleeping area. It lists loose, broken, or missing exhaust parts and leaking exhaust parts as things to check. The danger it identifies is the air the driver breathes inside the vehicle, so the answer focuses on fumes reaching the cab or sleeper berth rather than on noise or outdoor air pollution.
3. If you are stopped on a one-way or divided highway, you should place reflective triangles at:
- 10 feet, 100 feet, and 200 feet toward approaching traffic. ✓
- 25 feet, 100 feet, and 250 feet toward approaching traffic.
- 50 feet, 100 feet, and 300 feet toward approaching traffic.
Answer: A. 10 feet, 100 feet, and 200 feet toward approaching traffic.
Place the reflective triangles at 10 feet, 100 feet, and 200 feet toward approaching traffic. The Texas CDL manual gives a specific spacing pattern for a one-way or divided highway: set the warning devices at 10 feet, 100 feet, and 200 feet toward the traffic that is approaching. It also says you must put out your emergency warning devices within ten minutes when you stop on a road or shoulder. The three distances match the first choice exactly. The other choices use distances the manual does not give for this situation, so they do not match the rule.
4. Which of the following statements is true when you are performing a pre-trip inspection on your brakes and suspension system?
- Brake shoes should be free of oil, grease, and brake fluid. ✓
- One missing leaf spring is not dangerous.
- A cracked spring hanger is not dangerous.
Answer: A. Brake shoes should be free of oil, grease, and brake fluid.
The true statement is that brake shoes should be free of oil, grease, and brake fluid. The handbook lists shoes or pads with oil, grease, or brake fluid on them as bad brake drums or shoes. It also explains that contaminants like grease or oil can reduce braking friction and may create a fire hazard. So a pre-trip inspection should confirm the brake shoes are clean. For suspension, the handbook says broken suspension parts can be extremely dangerous and calls out spring hanger defects that let the axle move from its proper position.
5. Which of these items is checked in a pre-trip inspection?
- Cargo securement.
- Whether all vehicle lights are working and are clean.
- Both of the above. ✓
Answer: C. Both of the above.
Both cargo securement and whether all vehicle lights are working and clean are checked in a pre-trip inspection. The handbook says cargo must be balanced and secured before each trip, and it also walks you through checking the lights. In the light check, you confirm the low beams, high beams, four-way flashers, parking and clearance lights, turn signals, and reflectors are working, and you clean them if dirty. Because the pre-trip inspection covers both securing the load and making sure the lights work and are clean, the answer that includes both items fits.
6. When you are parked at the side of the road at night, you must:
- warn others by turning on your 4-way emergency flashers. ✓
- put your warning devices out within 15 minutes.
- use your left turn signal lights to give warning to other drivers.
Answer: A. warn others by turning on your 4-way emergency flashers.
When you park at the side of the road at night, turn on your four-way emergency flashers to warn other drivers you are there. The handbook's section on communicating your presence says that when you pull off the road and stop, you should switch on the four-way emergency flashers, and it stresses that this matters especially at night. It warns against relying on your taillights, because drivers have hit the back of a parked vehicle believing it was still moving. Turning on the flashers makes a stopped vehicle look stopped, so approaching traffic gets a clear warning instead of a misleading set of taillights.
7. While doing the pre-trip inspection on your vehicle’s steering and exhaust system you found the following problems. Which one, if any, should be fixed before you drive the vehicle?
- Too many vertical stacks.
- Oil on the tie rod.
- Play in the steering wheel of more than 10 degrees (2 inches on a 20-inch steering wheel). ✓
Answer: C. Play in the steering wheel of more than 10 degrees (2 inches on a 20-inch steering wheel).
The steering wheel play of more than 10 degrees (about 2 inches at the rim of a 20-inch wheel) is the problem that must be fixed before you drive. The handbook's list of steering system defects includes steering wheel play beyond 10 degrees. It says plainly that this much slack can make the vehicle hard to steer, which is why it has to be corrected before the vehicle goes out. The other items you found are not defects in the handbook's steering or exhaust checks, so nothing in the passages gives you a reason to hold the vehicle for them.
8. When inspecting the windshield before a trip, a person should do all the following, except:
- Remove and sharpen the wiper blades. ✓
- Check the windshield wipers for proper spring tension.
- Check the wiper blades for damage.
Answer: A. Remove and sharpen the wiper blades.
The action you should not do is remove and sharpen the wiper blades; a pre-trip inspection calls for checking the wipers, not altering them. The handbook's vehicle inspection section tells you to look at the wiper arms and blades, make sure they are secure and free of damage, and turn the wipers on to see that they work smoothly. It also says the blades should press firmly enough to clean the glass, and that washers should work. Nothing in those inspection steps says to take the blades off or sharpen them. Sharpening is not a wiper maintenance item listed for the pre-trip check.
9. The emergency air line supplies air to the:
- Relay valves.
- Trailer air tanks. ✓
- Signal line.
Answer: B. Trailer air tanks.
The emergency air line supplies air to the trailer air tanks. The handbook says the emergency line, also called the supply line, has two jobs: it supplies air to the trailer air tanks and it controls the emergency brakes on combination vehicles. A loss of pressure in that line causes the trailer emergency brakes to come on. The service line is a separate line, and the handbook describes it as the control line or signal line. So the air supply job belongs to the emergency line, and its destination is the trailer air tanks.
10. All trailers made after ____ must be equipped with Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS).
- 1943
- 1998 ✓
- 2009
Answer: B. 1998
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Not yet verified
Updated: · 20 official sample questions · Official driver handbook