General Driving Knowledge — North Carolina
North Carolina CDL practice test: 460 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: 173 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 | North Carolina CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 173 (38% of 460 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 (173)
1. In hot weather, spots on the pavement where tar is bleeding:
- Are very slippery. ✓
- Offer the same amount of traction as the rest of the roadway.
- Offer more traction than the rest of the roadway.
Answer: A. Are very slippery.
Spots where tar bleeds to the surface in hot weather are very slippery. The handbook warns that tar in the pavement often rises to the surface when the weather is very hot, and it says plainly that these bleeding tar spots are very slippery. That means the pavement there gives you less grip than the surrounding road, so treat those dark, shiny patches as a hazard and slow down or steer around them before you reach them.
2. Federal and state laws require:
- Drivers to regularly inspect their vehicles. ✓
- Drivers to inspect their vehicles, but only if they believe there may be a problem.
- Drivers to inspect their vehicles if planning to travel out-of-state.
- Drivers to inspect their vehicles, but only if they will be transporting hazardous materials.
Answer: A. Drivers to regularly inspect their vehicles.
Federal and state laws require drivers to regularly inspect their vehicles. Federal and state laws require drivers to inspect their vehicles. The handbook explains that an inspection can uncover a defect before it causes a breakdown or crash, and it says inspectors may also check your vehicle and put an unsafe one out of service until fixed. It also presents inspection as a pre-trip duty that helps determine whether the vehicle is safe to drive. That makes inspection a required part of operating the vehicle, not something you do only when you already suspect trouble or only in special situations.
3. A driver needs a CDL with a hazardous materials endorsement to transport hazardous materials in:
- A vehicle requiring a Class A license.
- A vehicle requiring a Class B license.
- A vehicle requiring a Class C license.
- Any sized vehicle. ✓
Answer: D. Any sized vehicle.
A hazardous materials endorsement is required for any sized vehicle, including vehicles in Class A, B, or C. The handbook says the H endorsement applies to any driver, no matter whether the vehicle is Class A, B, or C, when the load is hazardous material that must be placarded or is a select agent or toxin in any quantity. It also says drivers of placarded vehicles must have a CDL with the hazardous materials endorsement. Because the rule is tied to the cargo and placarding, not to one license class, the requirement covers vehicles of any size.
4. A standee line on a bus:
- Marks where riders may not stand. ✓
- Is useful to get passengers to board and exit the bus.
- Is a part of the air conditioning system.
Answer: A. Marks where riders may not stand.
A standee line marks where riders may not stand. The handbook bars riders from standing ahead of the rear of the driver's seat. Buses built to let people stand must have a two-inch floor line or another clear marker that shows the area where standing is not allowed. That marker is the standee line, and standing riders must remain behind it. The line therefore defines a no-standing zone for riders, rather than helping them get on or off or serving as bus equipment.
5. With the exception of the straight line backing exercise, a driver may exit their vehicle and check its position during testing exercises up to:
- One time.
- Two times. ✓
- Three times.
Answer: B. Two times.
Except for the straight-line backing exercise, you may exit the vehicle to check its position up to two times during a testing exercise. The handbook sets the free looks by exercise. It allows one free look on the straight-line backing exercise and two free looks on the reverse offset backing exercise, where you stop, set the parking brake, shift to neutral or park, and get out to check where the vehicle sits. Since the question leaves out straight-line backing, the remaining allowance is the two looks given for reverse offset backing. Anything beyond the allowed looks is scored, so the examiner explains the limit before you begin.
6. When refueling a vehicle that contains hazardous materials:
- The engine should be left on.
- The engine should be turned off. ✓
- The gas nozzle may be left unattended.
- No other vehicles should be at the refueling station.
Answer: B. The engine should be turned off.
Turn the engine off before refueling a vehicle that contains hazardous materials. The handbook's hazardous materials section says to shut down the engine before fueling a vehicle carrying hazardous materials. It also says a person must stay at the nozzle and control the fuel flow the whole time. That supports the choice that the engine should be turned off; leaving it running is the opposite of the rule. The passage does not say anything about clearing other vehicles from the station.
7. When backing with a trailer:
- You should not back up in a straight line.
- You should not correct drift until you are far off course.
- You should frequently pull forward to reposition the vehicle. ✓
Answer: C. You should frequently pull forward to reposition the vehicle.
When backing with a trailer, you should frequently pull forward to reposition the vehicle. The combination-vehicle section tells you to back slowly so you can fix errors before the trailer gets far off course, and to correct drift as soon as you see it. It then says that when you back a trailer, you should make pull-ups to reposition the vehicle as needed. That is a pull-forward-and-reset approach: stop, pull forward, and line up again instead of forcing the trailer through a bad angle. The handbook presents pull-ups as the normal way to adjust your position, not a last resort.
8. Shippers must keep a copy of shipping papers for:
- Six weeks.
- Six months.
- One year.
- Two years. ✓
Answer: D. Two years.
Shippers must keep a copy of shipping papers for two years. The handbook's hazardous materials section says the shipper must retain a copy of the shipping paper, or an electronic image of it, for two years after the initial carrier accepts the material. It separately notes a three-year period for hazardous waste, but the general shipper retention period listed is two years. A different passage gives a one-year period only to a carrier that provides service and is not the shipment's originator. That carrier rule does not change the shipper's two-year requirement.
9. Bridges usually:
- Freeze, but only once the temperature drops significantly below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Freeze after other road surfaces freeze.
- Freeze before other road surfaces. ✓
- Have heaters to prevent them from freezing.
Answer: C. Freeze before other road surfaces.
Bridges usually freeze before other road surfaces do. The handbook lists bridges as one of the signs of a slippery road: when the temperature drops, a bridge will freeze before the road does. It adds that you should be especially careful when the temperature is close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, because that is when this is most likely to happen. So the surface you are on can lose traction on a bridge while the road on either side is still fine, which is why you slow down and stay alert on bridges in cold weather.
10. If using a helper while backing a vehicle, where should they stand?
- In front of the passenger side
- In front of the driver side
- On the wide of the truck
- Near the back of the truck ✓
Answer: D. Near the back of the truck
The helper should stand near the back of the truck. The handbook says to use a helper because large vehicles have blind spots you cannot see. It gives a clear place for that helper: near the back of the vehicle, where you can see them. It also says to agree on hand signals before backing and to agree on a stop signal. Standing near the back lets the helper guide you from a spot you can actually watch, which is why that choice fits the handbook rule.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook