General Driving Knowledge — Montana
Montana CDL practice test: 435 free practice questions (Based on the official driver handbook). The official format is not yet verified; check the official site before your test. General Driving Knowledge: 156 questions.
Questions that do not fit a single topic: lane use, turning, signalling and other rules of the road.
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 | General Driving Knowledge |
| License test | Montana CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 156 (36% of 435 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 (156)
1. When should you slow for a curve?
- Before entering the curve ✓
- While in the curve
- After the curve
Answer: A. Before entering the curve
Slow down before you enter the curve, so you are at a safe speed and in the right gear before the turn. The handbook says to reduce speed and shift down before entering a curve. That way you can use some power through the turn to help keep the vehicle stable, and you can pick up speed once you are out. Another passage warns that braking in a curve is dangerous because the wheels can lock and the vehicle can skid. It also says trucks with a high center of gravity can roll over at the posted curve speed, so slowing ahead of the turn matters.
2. When applying for an original or renewed HazMat endorsement, you must undergo a background check through which agency?
- The Transportation Security Administration ✓
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation
- The Department of Energy
Answer: A. The Transportation Security Administration
You must undergo the HazMat background check through the Transportation Security Administration. The handbook says the USA Patriot Act requires background checks for hazardous materials licenses and renewals. It names the Transportation Security Administration as the agency that investigates the driver's criminal history and immigration status and determines whether the driver poses a security risk. Another section also says you must pass a TSA background check to get the hazardous materials endorsement.
3. If there is a collision involving a vehicle transporting Class 1 explosives, the driver should:
- Not warn others of the danger.
- Allow smoking near the vehicle.
- Keep the explosives inside the vehicle until after separating the vehicles involved in the collision.
- Remove the explosives from the vehicle before separating the vehicles involved in the collision. ✓
Answer: D. Remove the explosives from the vehicle before separating the vehicles involved in the collision.
Take the explosives out of the vehicle before you pull apart the vehicles involved in the collision. The handbook's Class 1 explosives section tells you to remove every explosive before separating the vehicles in a collision. It also says to place them at least 200 feet from the vehicles and occupied buildings, and to stay a safe distance away. Before that, warn others, keep bystanders back, and allow no smoking or open flame near the vehicle. The bank answer matches that instruction: get the explosives off the vehicle before the wrecked vehicles are separated.
4. If you’re not sure what to do to extinguish a fire in your vehicle, you should:
- Use water.
- Stay inside the vehicle.
- Wait for the firefighters. ✓
Answer: C. Wait for the firefighters.
If you are unsure what to use on a vehicle fire, wait for the firefighters. The handbook says that if you are not sure what to use on a fire, especially a hazardous materials fire, wait for firefighters. It also tells you to notify emergency services of your problem and location. This answer fits because the manual gives specific extinguisher choices by fire type and warns that water can cause shock on an electrical fire or spread a gasoline fire. When the right agent is unclear, letting firefighters handle it is the safe choice the passage names.
5. The trailer hand valve:
- Should always be used for parking.
- Should only be used for parking on a downgrade.
- Should never be used for parking. ✓
Answer: C. Should never be used for parking.
6. When traveling down a downgrade, the speed of a vehicle will likely:
- Decrease.
- Stay the same.
- Increase. ✓
Answer: C. Increase.
7. What is sleep debt?
- When you fall behind on sleep ✓
- When you want to take a nap
- Excess sleep
- The amount of time it takes to get ready to drive after sleeping
Answer: A. When you fall behind on sleep
8. If a load is 40 feet long, it should be secured by at least ____ tie-downs.
- Two
- Three
- Four ✓
Answer: C. Four
A 40-foot load needs at least four tie-downs. The handbook says cargo should have at least one tie-down for each ten feet of cargo. It also sets a minimum of two tie-downs for any cargo, however small. A 40-foot load divides into four ten-foot sections, so it needs four tie-downs. That is more than the two-tie-down minimum, so the ten-foot rule controls here. Three tie-downs would only match thirty feet under that rule, not forty.
9. If convicted of a traffic violation, you must inform your employer:
- Within three hours.
- Within a week.
- Within 30 days. ✓
Answer: C. Within 30 days.
You must tell your employer within 30 days of being convicted of a traffic violation (parking excepted). The handbook lists this under other CDL rules that apply in every state: after a conviction for any traffic violation other than parking, notify your employer within 30 days. It adds that this applies no matter what type of vehicle you were driving when the violation happened, so a ticket in your personal car still counts. The same 30-day window is also given for notifying your motor vehicle licensing agency when the conviction happens in another jurisdiction.
10. To lower the risk of a rollover, you should:
- Load the cargo as far forward as possible.
- Load the cargo as far back as possible.
- Load the cargo as low as possible. ✓
- Stack the cargo as high as possible.
Answer: C. Load the cargo as low as possible.
Load the cargo as low as possible. The handbook says piling cargo higher moves the center of gravity up and makes a truck easier to turn over. To prevent rollover, it tells you to keep cargo close to the ground and to drive slowly around turns. Section 3 adds that a high center of gravity is most dangerous in curves or when swerving, and says to distribute cargo as low as possible, with the heaviest parts under the lightest parts. Loading low therefore directly reduces the rollover risk described in the passages.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Not yet verified
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook