Parking & Stopping Rules — 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. Parking & Stopping Rules: 11 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 | North Carolina CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 11 (2% 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
Not yet verified
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Questions (11)
1. When parking a double or triple vehicle:
- You should back into your parking spot.
- You should park on the roadway.
- You should park in a location where you can pull forward to exit. ✓
- You should ask people to move their vehicles.
Answer: C. You should park in a location where you can pull forward to exit.
2. When completing a conventional parallel parking maneuver, you should:
- Back up past the parking space, then pull forward into it.
- Pull forward past the parking space, then back into it. ✓
- Pull forward directly into the parking space.
Answer: B. Pull forward past the parking space, then back into it.
3. If you need to travel down a hill, you should switch into a lower gear:
- After you start moving downhill.
- As you go downhill and pick up speed.
- Before you start moving downhill. ✓
- Near the bottom of the hill.
Answer: C. Before you start moving downhill.
You should shift into a lower gear before you start moving downhill. The handbook says to slow down and shift into a gear you can control without hard braking, and it states plainly to downshift before starting down the hill. It also warns that once your speed has built up, you may not get the transmission into a lower gear. Choosing the lower gear first lets the engine help control your speed and keeps the brakes from overheating and losing their power. The gear should usually be lower than the one you would need to climb that same hill.
4. Before beginning downhill, you should:
- Shift into a higher gear.
- Take your vehicle out of gear.
- Shift into a lower gear. ✓
- Rely only on braking to reduce your speed.
Answer: C. Shift into a lower gear.
Before starting down a hill, shift into a lower gear so engine braking helps control your speed. The handbook lists starting down a hill as a special condition for downshifting. Slow down and shift down before you begin the descent, into a gear low enough to control speed without hard braking. It adds that the gear is usually lower than the one you would need to climb that same hill. Doing this lets the engine do its share of the braking. If you wait until speed builds, you may not be able to downshift, and you could lose engine braking. Relying too much on brakes can overheat them and reduce braking power.
5. When stopping to pick up students, be sure to park at least 10 feet away from the students because:
- You will have a good view of their movements. ✓
- It will be difficult to get any closer to the students.
- Students should walk for exercise.
Answer: A. You will have a good view of their movements.
Park at least 10 feet away from students so you will have a good view of their movements. The handbook says to stop with the front bumper at least 10 feet from the students at the designated stop. That spacing makes the students walk to the bus, and the handbook explains this gives you a better view of their movements. So the reason for the 10-foot gap is visibility, not convenience or exercise. Keep the stop setup in mind as a safety step: you want the students in your sight as they approach.
6. Sometimes, when checking the automatic transmission fluid level:
- Your vehicle should be parked uphill.
- Your vehicle should be parked downhill.
- Your vehicle should be washed.
- Your vehicle may have to be left running. ✓
Answer: D. Your vehicle may have to be left running.
Sometimes your vehicle may have to be left running while you check the automatic transmission fluid level. The handbook's engine-compartment checklist includes the automatic transmission fluid level and notes that this check may need the engine to be running. So the correct choice is the one saying the vehicle may have to be left running. The passages do not connect this check to parking on a slope or washing the vehicle.
7. The trailer hand valve:
- Should always be used for parking.
- Should only be used for parking on a downhill.
- Should never be used for parking. ✓
- Should only be used when transporting cargo.
Answer: C. Should never be used for parking.
The trailer hand valve should never be used for parking. The handbook explains that the trailer hand valve works the trailer brakes and is meant only for testing them. It warns against using it while driving because the trailer can skid, and it says never to use it for parking, since all the air might leak out and release the brakes on trailers that don't have spring brakes. Instead, you set the parking brakes, and if the trailer has no spring brakes, you use wheel chocks so it can't roll.
8. 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.
9. When asked to complete a driver's side parallel parking maneuver, you should:
- Pass the parking space while backing, then pull forward into it.
- Pull forward past the parking space, then back into it. ✓
- Pull forward into the parking space without passing it first.
- Back into the parking space without passing it first.
Answer: B. Pull forward past the parking space, then back into it.
You should pull forward past the parking space first, then back into it. The handbook warns that backing is always dangerous because you cannot see everything behind you, so it says to avoid backing whenever you can and, when you must back, to back and turn toward the driver's side whenever possible. The maneuver follows that idea: you drive beyond the space so the vehicle can be backed in on the driver's side, where your mirrors and view are best, instead of trying to work your way in from a position short of the space.
10. What is the best way to stop if your brakes fail while you are driving downhill?
- Steer onto an escape ramp. ✓
- Let the vehicle slow down on its own.
- Let rumble strips slow your vehicle.
Answer: A. Steer onto an escape ramp.
The best way is to steer onto an escape ramp. The handbook calls an escape ramp your best hope when brakes fail on a downgrade and says to use it when one is available. It explains that ramps are built to stop runaway vehicles, often with soft gravel, an uphill grade, or both. It also says waiting makes the vehicle faster and harder to stop, so you should act as soon as you know the brakes do not work. If no ramp exists, the handbook directs you to pick the least hazardous route, such as an open field or a side road that flattens out or turns uphill.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook