2023 Pretrip

Pretrip Practice Test

If you operate a commercial vehicle, you need to know what’s under the hood of your truck. Before hitting the road, at the minimum commercial drivers should perform a pre-trip and post-trip inspection every day to ensure the truck is safe to drive.

Passing the CDL pre trip inspection is required before you can climb behind the wheel to demonstrate your driving skills during a CDL exam. Not only do you need to know what areas and parts to inspect, you need to note the item’s condition during CDL pre trip test. Depending on the state where you are CDL testing, there could be 100 or more inspection items to know by heart.

Why Conduct a Pre-Trip Inspection

In a CDL pre-trip inspection test, the driver demonstrates his/her knowledge of the main commercial driving safety points by walking around the vehicle, checking various safety components and explaining to the test administrator each part that should be checked for safety. Truck drivers should touch each vehicle part as they perform the pre-trip inspection so the test administrator knows exactly what area of the truck the driver refers to.

We know how difficult it can be to memorize over 100 truck parts and inspection points, including the item’s name, its location and condition. The purpose of this test ensure that you understand the information found in Section 11 of your CDL handbook. Like all of our practice test, our CDL pretrip inspection practice test is dynamically generated just like the DMV/RMV, our database that contains hundreds of CDL practice questions which are randomly selected to guarantee you’ll never take the same test twice!!

When you take and pass your CDL test(s) and you have your license a whole new world of career options will open up to you. Suddenly you will find that it is much easier to get a job and you can demand a higher salary or hourly wage. Of course, you can’t just walk down to your local motor vehicle department; you actually have to take the CDL pre-trip inspection test. For many, this is very intimidating and they allow for the test to stand between them and a career that they would love.

Understanding the Test

The CDL pretrip inspection test is one of several test that you may need to take for getting a commercial driver's license for that job that you may aspire to have. For instance, if you want to drive a class A, B or C vehicle you need to take both the general knowledge and the transporting cargo test. If there is a chance that you will be driving a vehicle with air brakes, you will also need to take the air brakes test. If you do not take this part of the test you may limit your ability to drive many different types of vehicles.

Preparing for the Test:

There is a lot of information that you will need to learn, if you don’t already know it, to pass the CDL pretrip inspection test. It is important to review information as much as possible until you know it well. A great way to get an idea of what you need to know is by getting the commercial driver’s license manual (CDL handbook) for your state. This will allow you to get an in depth view of the information covered in the pretrip inspection test.

Practice Tests

Taking the CDL pretrip inspection test comes with a lot of pressure for many people. With the pressure comes nerves and when most people are nervous they don’t test as well as they would otherwise. To get an idea not only of your knowledge but how well you will test, you should take our free practice tests. If you don’t do well on one of our practice tests, look over the questions that you missed and study these areas closely.

The benefit of the CDL Study Buddy practice tests is that they allow you to see where you need the most help. Continue taking the practice tests as often as you like, while continuing to study until you are able to pass the test with ease. This practice will also allow you to see that you really do know and what you need to know in order to pass the test. This will boost your confidence so that when you take the real test you won’t be nearly as nervous, which will help you succeed when taking your test.

What You Need to Know

Of course, everyone would like to know with 100% certainty on what is on the CDL pretrip inspection test. So they would get that perfect score, and yet a lot of people don’t quite make it. The information you need to know in covered in Section 11. In most states you need to answer at least 80% of the questions in this section of the test correctly to pass.

Again, this is where the practice tests will come in handy. When you do the practice tests you should actually ensure that you know more than 80%. The reason for this is that the practice tests are only a sampling of what will be on the real test. This is why it is a good idea to take several practice CDL pre-trip inspection tests so you can get an accurate idea of what will be covered in your actual test.

Tips when taking your test.

• Go in with the thought that you will pass the test instead of assuming you will not.
• Get a full nights sleep (ideally around at least 6 hrs).
• Limit your caffeine intake at least 8hrs before taking your test, caffeine can often distract your ability to focus on the questions.
• Do not bring your cell phone into the test with you. If you do, make sure that the phone is off. If your cell phone rings or you pick it up, the test will be terminated.
• Read the question three times before you answer.
• Go with your gut when you choose your answer. If you are unsure, choose the best possible answer and move on.
• If you finish the test in plenty of time, be sure that you go back and check all of your answers.
• Don’t rush. Don’t be afraid to use up all of the allotted time to take the test. The more thorough you are with every question the more likely you are to do well.
• While thorough is good, don’t over think or second guess yourself.
• Listen to instructions before beginning so you do not disqualify yourself.
• If you get stressed, stop and take a deep breathe and continue.
• If you are the type to often misread a question, keep in mind most DMV’s also have the test in audio (take some headsets), so don’t be afraid to call ahead of time and ask the DMV if they offer the audio version of the test.

Our Other 2023 CDL Practice Test

You must pass endorsement tests depending on the type of CMV that you will be driving. The endorsement tests are described below.

General Knowledge Practice Tests - To get a CDL and drive any type of commercial vehicle, you must take and pass the General Knowledge test. You'll be tested on general trucking knowledge, driving safely and transporting cargo safely, taken from sections 1, 2, and 3 of your state CDL manual. Once again, you MUST pass the General Knowledge exam to get your CDL.

Combination Vehicles Practice Test - To drive a commercial vehicle and pull any kind of trailer, you must pass the Combination Vehicles written CDL exam. Combination vehicles are usually heavier, longer, and require more driving skill than single commercial vehicles. This means that drivers of combination vehicles need more knowledge and skill than drivers of single vehicles. You must understand the important safety factors that apply specifically to combination vehicles.

Airbrakes Practice Test - If you plan on driving any CMV equipped with air brakes, you must take and pass the air brakes test to remove the air brakes restriction from your CDL. The air brakes test is different than the endorsement tests because the air brakes test works as a restriction instead of an endorsement. If you do not pass the air brakes test, your CDL will bear a mark of restriction which means that you are not authorized to drive a CMV with air brakes.

Double & Triple Endorsement Test - Before you start on any doubles and triples practice tests, you need to have your commercial driver's license first. Some states allow you to get both the commercial license and the T-endorsement at the same time, but most do not. Therefore, it's best to get your commercial license first, and then go for the double/triples trailer endorsement test (or check to see if you even need the endorsement).

Tanker Endorsement Tests – If you have the desire of hauling tankers you need the tanker endorsement on your CDL. Like the doubles and triples endorsements the tanker endorsements can open a new world of opportunity for you as a driver. So, do yourself a favor and study for the test and take it so you can get your tanker endorsement that you could need to further your career or even get started on what could be a new exciting and lucrative career.

Hazardous Materials Endorsement Tests – Commercial drivers need to be qualified to deal with potentially hazardous spills and situations. If you are driving large vehicles that require a CDL license and a Hazmat endorsement there is a good chance that you will be dealing with hazardous materials. Knowing how to deal with these situations will keep you and the general public safe, as well as know how to react accordingly should a hazardous situation ever present itself.

Passenger Endorsement Tests – Bus drivers must have a commercial driver license if they drive a vehicle designed to seat more than 16 or more persons, including the driver. Bus drivers must have a passenger endorsement on their commercial driver license. To get the endorsement you must pass a knowledge test on Sections 2 and 4 of your CDL handbook. (If your bus has air brakes, you must also pass a knowledge test on Section 5.) You must also pass the skills tests required for the class of vehicle you drive.

School Bus Endorsement Test – This test is for anyone who operates a school bus (with passengers) when on the job.This would include public and private school employees transporting students from home to school, school to home, and school-sponsored events. A school bus permit is no longer enough. Therefore, the endorsement is required for most school bus drivers. It is recommended that those who need the endorsement prepare by using our school bus practice tests.

Texas Special Requirments Practice Test - In order to get your Commercial Learner's Permit (CLP) or Commercial Driver's License (CDL) in Texas, you'll first need to pass the Special Requirements Test. It's Texas-specific (other states don't have this requirement) and you'll need to pass it before you are allowed to proceed with other exams at the TX DMV. The Special Requirements Test is based on Section 14 of the Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Handbook. That section contains tons of technical details that you'll have to remember.