Bad Weather & Night Driving — Delaware
Delaware CDL practice test: 443 free practice questions (Based on the official driver handbook). The official format is not yet verified; check the official site before your test. Bad Weather & Night Driving: 21 questions.
Rain, snow, ice, fog and night driving: visibility, traction and headlight use.
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 | Bad Weather & Night Driving |
| License test | Delaware CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 21 (5% of 443 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 (21)
1. Areas of the road that are shaded:
- Usually do not freeze.
- Usually do not contain moisture, so they can’t freeze.
- Will remain slick after ice on other areas of the road has melted. ✓
- Should always be avoided.
Answer: C. Will remain slick after ice on other areas of the road has melted.
Shaded areas of the road can stay icy and slick even after ice in open, sunny areas has melted. The handbook lists shaded areas as one sign of a slippery road. It says shady parts stay icy and slippery long after open areas have melted. That matches the choice saying these areas remain slick after other parts of the road clear. The point for a driver is that sunshine melting ice elsewhere does not mean the shaded stretch is safe, so lower speed and care are still needed there.
2. When driving through fog, a driver should:
- Use high beam headlights.
- Use low beam headlights. ✓
- Run the windshield wipers.
- Drive on the shoulder.
Answer: B. Use low beam headlights.
Use low beam headlights when you drive through fog. The handbook treats fog as very dangerous because it can appear without warning and visibility can fall fast. It says the best move is not to drive in it: leave the roadway for a rest area or truck stop until you can see better. If you must keep going, it tells you to slow down before entering the fog, obey fog warning signs, and use low-beam headlights and fog lights for the best visibility, even during the day. That is why low beams match the handbook; it never points fog drivers to high beams, wipers, or the shoulder.
3. If driving in a foggy area, you should not:
- Decrease your speed.
- Increase your speed. ✓
- Use your low beam headlights.
- Turn on your four-way flashers.
Answer: B. Increase your speed.
You should not increase your speed in fog; slowing down is what the handbook tells you to do. The fog section warns that visibility can drop quickly and that you should not count on the fog thinning out once you are in it. It tells you to slow down before you enter fog, to use low-beam headlights and fog lights for the best visibility even in daytime, and, if you can, to pull off at a rest area or truck stop until you can see better. The stopping-distance section backs this up: faster speed means longer braking distance and a harder impact. Speeding up works against both, so it is the thing to avoid.
4. The best way to avoid glare at night from oncoming vehicles is to:
- Wear sunglasses.
- Close your eyes as vehicles approach.
- Look to the right side of road. ✓
- Use your high beams.
Answer: C. Look to the right side of road.
The best way to avoid glare from oncoming vehicles at night is to look to the right side of the road. The handbook says not to stare directly at the lights of oncoming vehicles. Instead, you should shift your view a little to the right, toward a lane line or the edge marking when one is there. It also warns against retaliating with your own high beams when other drivers fail to dim theirs, because that adds glare and raises the chance of a crash. Directing your eyes to the right edge helps you keep your lane while avoiding the brightest part of the oncoming light.
5. If unable to tell if the road is becoming icy and slippery, a driver:
- Should try guessing.
- May open their window and feel the front of the side mirror for ice. ✓
- Should look at the road closely.
Answer: B. May open their window and feel the front of the side mirror for ice.
Open your window and feel the front of the side mirror for ice; that is the handbook's simple check when you cannot tell whether the road is icing up. The Texas CDL handbook says it can be hard to know when a road is slippery, so it gives signs to check. One easy check is to open the window and feel the front of the mirror, mirror support, or antenna. If ice is there, the road surface is probably starting to ice up. A later section also tells drivers to check mirrors and wiper blades for ice and treat the road as likely icy if they find it. That supports using the mirror as a practical ice detector rather than guessing.
6. The best way to recognize that your trailer has begun to skid is by:
- Seeing other drivers' faces.
- Seeing it in your mirrors. ✓
- Feeling it.
- Listening to the radio.
Answer: B. Seeing it in your mirrors.
The best way to catch a trailer skid early is by seeing it in your mirrors. The handbook's trailer skid procedure starts with recognizing the skid, and it says the earliest and best way to notice the trailer has started to skid is by watching it in your mirrors. It adds that whenever you brake hard, you should check the mirrors to confirm the trailer is staying where it belongs, because once the trailer swings out of your lane a jackknife becomes very hard to prevent. So the skill it teaches is a visual habit: hard braking means a mirror check.
7. Which of the following surfaces provides the least amount of traction?
- Ice that is dry
- Ice that is wet ✓
- Wet pavement
- Dry pavement
Answer: B. Ice that is wet
Wet ice provides the least traction. The handbook explains that slight melting makes ice wet, and once ice is wet it has far less grip than ice that stays dry. It also treats icy surfaces as the most serious case, telling drivers to slow to a crawl and stop as soon as they safely can. Wet pavement is slippery enough to stretch stopping distance and calls for a partial speed reduction, but the handbook does not rank it as bad as ice. Dry pavement is the normal surface used for comparison.
8. When driving at night, you should do all of the following, except:
- Make sure you are rested.
- Make sure your glasses are clean.
- Wear sunglasses. ✓
Answer: C. Wear sunglasses.
You should not wear sunglasses when driving at night. The night-driving section says to make sure you are rested and alert, and if you wear eyeglasses, to keep them clean and unscratched. It then says plainly not to wear sunglasses at night. So resting and clean glasses are recommended for night driving, while sunglasses are the one listed action you should not do. The passage gives the instruction directly and does not add a separate reason beyond it.
9. Roads are slippery when it first begins to rain because:
- Water is slippery.
- The fresh rain mixes with oil on the roadway. ✓
- The water has nowhere to go.
- Concrete can be slippery.
Answer: B. The fresh rain mixes with oil on the roadway.
Roads are slippery when it first begins to rain because the fresh rain mixes with oil left on the roadway by vehicles. The handbook says that right after rain starts, the water mixes with oil that vehicles have left on the road, and that combination makes the pavement very slippery. It also notes that if the rain continues, it washes the oil away. So the first rain is the risky period, not simply because water or concrete is slippery in general. That is why the answer points to fresh rain mixing with oil.
10. If unsure if a road is becoming icy, a driver can:
- Guess.
- Open the window and check the front of the mirror for ice. ✓
- Try to look at the road closely.
- Look at a weather forecast.
Answer: B. Open the window and check the front of the mirror for ice.
Open the window and feel the front of the mirror, mirror support, or antenna for ice. The handbook describes an easy, direct way to tell whether the road is starting to freeze: roll down the window and feel the front of the mirror, the mirror support, or the antenna. If ice has formed on those parts, the road surface is probably starting to ice up too. That makes the mirror check a physical test of the conditions around your truck rather than a guess, and it matches what the handbook lists among the signs of a slippery road.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Not yet verified
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook