Vermont Passenger CDL Practice Test

Which statement below about a bus's interior is NOT true?

• You must never drive with an emergency exit door or window open.
• If the bus has a red emergency door light, that light must work.
• All seats must be securely fastened to the bus.
• If you turn on your headlights, you don't need to turn on the red emergency door light.

Correct answer: If you turn on your headlights, you don't need to turn on the red emergency door light.

The red emergency door light marks the way out when it is dark. Riders must find that exit fast in an emergency. So if your bus has this light, it must work. You turn it on at night and any other time you use your outside lights. Your headlights do not replace the red light. Switching them on is the signal to switch the red light on too. That is why this statement is not true. With the red light off at night, riders may never find the emergency door in a fire or a crash.

Before beginning a trip, be sure to check:

• each handhold and railing
• each signaling device
• the emergency exit handles
• all of the above

Correct answer: all of the above

The inside of a bus can get damaged while it sits unattended between trips. That is why you inspect the interior before you drive. Handholds and railings help riders stay steady as they get on and while they stand. Signaling devices let a rider ask you for help. On a bus with a restroom, this includes the emergency buzzer in the restroom. Emergency exit handles must work so riders can leave fast after a crash or during a fire. The handbook lists all three among the parts that must be safe to use. Each option alone is true but incomplete, so all of the above is correct.

When you change from high-beam headlights to low beams, what should you do?

• Turn your high beams back on and leave them on.
• Slow down.
• Increase your speed to make up for reduced visibility.
• Keep your speed the same and watch farther ahead.

Correct answer: Slow down.

Low beams light the road only about 250 feet ahead. High beams reach about 350 to 500 feet. So dimming your lights cuts your sight distance roughly in half. You must always be able to stop inside the distance you can see. That is why you slow down as soon as you switch to low beams. If you hold your speed, you reach the hazard before you can stop. Speeding up is worse: it pushes your stopping distance even further past your headlights.

Which statement about looking ahead while driving is correct?

• Once you are looking 12 to 15 seconds ahead, stop watching the traffic close to you.
• Shift your attention back and forth, near and far.
• At highway speeds, you should keep your eyes only 1–2 seconds ahead.

Correct answer: Shift your attention back and forth, near and far.

A big vehicle needs a lot of room to stop or change lanes. So you must see trouble early. Look about 12 to 15 seconds ahead. At low speed that is about one block. At highway speed it is about a quarter of a mile. Looking far ahead does not mean ignoring what is close. Shift your attention back and forth, near and far. If you watch only one distance, you may have to brake hard or swerve. Keeping your eyes just 1 to 2 seconds ahead is far too short at highway speed.

At the end of each shift, you should:

• inspect your bus
• report any defects
• both inspect your bus and report any defects

Correct answer: both inspect your bus and report any defects

Inspecting the bus at the end of a shift finds problems before the next driver takes it out. Riders can damage parts that matter for safety, like seats, windows, handholds and emergency exits. Finding the damage does not repair it. You must also report it, so mechanics can fix it before the bus goes out again. Drivers for interstate carriers fill out a written inspection report for each bus. That report lists every defect that would affect safety or lead to a breakdown. An inspection with no report leaves the fault on the bus.

In a pressurized cooling system, coolant level should be checked:

• Only by a mechanic
• Every 90 days
• Neither of these

Correct answer: Neither of these

Checking the coolant is the driver's job. It belongs in your vehicle inspection. Before starting out, make sure the cooling system has enough water and antifreeze. On a pressurized system, never remove the radiator cap until the system has cooled. Steam and boiling water can spray out under pressure and cause severe burns. Many vehicles have a sight glass or a see-through overflow container, so you can read the level while the engine is hot. You do not need a mechanic for this check, and once every 90 days is far too rare.

Which statement about carrying hazardous materials on a bus is NOT true?

• You can carry any hazardous materials on your bus as long as they are properly labeled.
• Most hazardous materials cannot be carried on a bus.
• Shippers must mark hazardous-material containers with the name, identification number, and hazard label.
• A bus may carry drugs, emergency hospital supplies, and small-arms ammunition labeled ORM-D.

Correct answer: You can carry any hazardous materials on your bus as long as they are properly labeled.

A label tells you what a material is. It does not give you permission to carry it. Most hazardous materials cannot be carried on a bus at all. A short list is allowed: small-arms ammunition labeled ORM-D, emergency hospital supplies, and drugs. Even then, a bus may carry no more than 500 pounds in total. No single class may go over 100 pounds. Poison gas, liquid Class 6 poison, tear gas and irritating material are never allowed. So check the rules before you load anything. A leak or a fire in a closed bus traps your riders.

To reduce the risk of theft and vandalism on a charter bus, drivers should:

• tell riders to leave their carry-on bags on the bus during rest stops.
• not allow riders on the bus until departure time.
• allow passengers to board early and wait on the bus.
• remind riders to leave their carry-ons on the seats when they get off.

Correct answer: not allow riders on the bus until departure time.

Theft and vandalism happen when the inside of the bus is occupied but unwatched. Riders who board early sit in the bus while you are still outside getting ready. Seats, windows and emergency equipment can be damaged, and property can go missing before anyone notices. So on a charter run you keep riders off the bus until departure time. Boarding and departure then happen together, and you are aboard the whole time riders are. Letting people wait on the bus seems courteous, but it creates the exact risk the rule is there to prevent.

Where on a bus is the standee line located?

• On the floor behind the driver's seat
• On the floor behind the last row of seats
• On the floor in front of the driver's seat
• On the floor at the middle of the bus between the axles

Correct answer: On the floor behind the driver's seat

The standee line sits on the floor just behind the driver's seat. On a bus built for standing riders, it shows how far forward a rider may stand. Every standing rider must stay behind the back edge of the driver's seat. The marking is a two-inch line on the floor. A bus can show this limit with a different clear marker instead of a painted line. The line is never in front of the driver's seat, because riders must keep that area clear.

When should you remind passengers to take their belongings with them?

• Only at the final destination, not at intermediate stops
• At the start of the trip, with the rules about smoking and radios
• Before you bring the bus to a complete stop

Correct answer: Before you bring the bus to a complete stop

Give the reminder while riders are still in their seats and still listening. Once the bus stops, people stand up, crowd the aisle and miss what you say. So tell them before you come to a complete stop. Do this at the destination and at every intermediate stop. Announce the location, the reason for stopping, the next departure time and the bus number. Remind riders getting off to take their carry-ons. If the aisle sits lower than the seats, warn them about the step-down. A reminder given after riders are off the bus comes too late to help anyone.

On a transit coach, the brake and accelerator interlock system may be used:

• to replace the rear door emergency buzzer
• to replace the parking brake
• as a safety feature when the rear door is open

Correct answer: as a safety feature when the rear door is open

The rear door of a transit coach is open when riders are stepping off. The interlock protects them. It applies the brakes and holds the throttle in idle position while that door is open, so the coach cannot roll or pull away under power with a rider in the doorway. The interlock releases as soon as you close the rear door. That is why you never use it in place of the parking brake: it holds the coach only while the door is open, so a bus left on the interlock can move the moment the door shuts.

You need to evacuate your bus in an emergency; passengers should be directed to a safe place no less than ____ feet from the bus.

• 150
• 100
• 75

Correct answer: 100

Lead your passengers well away from the road, not just a few steps from the bus. Take them to a spot at least 100 feet from the road, on the side toward the traffic that is coming. This distance protects them from flying debris if another vehicle crashes into the bus. At only 75 feet, they can still be inside the area where that debris lands. If there is a fire, also keep them upwind of the bus.

What must be closed while the bus is moving?

• The emergency roof hatch
• The driver's side window
• The restroom door
• The emergency exit window

Correct answer: The emergency exit window

An emergency exit window is your riders' way out when the main door is blocked. It works only if it is latched shut and ready to push open. So you never drive with an emergency exit door or window open. An open one can swing, jam on its frame, or let a rider fall out. Check every emergency exit before you start, and close any you find open. Roof hatches are the exception: you may lock some of them partly open for fresh air, so remember your bus is taller when you do.

On a bus, which seat must have a seat belt?

• The driver's seat
• The front passenger seat
• No seat on a bus needs one
• Every seat on the bus

Correct answer: The driver's seat

Your seat belt is what keeps you in control of the bus. A crash or a hard swerve can throw you out of the driver's seat. A driver who is out of the seat cannot steer or brake, so one crash turns into a worse one. That is why the driver's seat has a seat belt, and why you wear it whenever the bus is moving. Passenger seats follow a different rule: all seats must be securely fastened to the bus. A seat bolted down is not the same as a seat with a belt, so the driver's seat is the answer.

Your bus has a red emergency door light. When must you turn it on?

• Only when a rider opens an emergency exit
• At night or any other time you use your outside lights
• Only when the bus is stopped to load or unload riders
• Only when you drive in rain, fog, or snow

Correct answer: At night or any other time you use your outside lights

An emergency door only helps if people can find it and use it. If your bus has a red emergency door light, it must work. Switch it on at night, and at any other time your outside lights are on. The "Emergency Exit" sign on the door must also be easy to see. The light does not wait for a rider to open the exit. It is also not only for stops or bad weather. The simple rule: when your outside lights are on, the red emergency door light is on too.

When you're driving, what does the term "hazard" mean?

• A situation that has already become an emergency and needs sudden action
• Anyone or anything that may cause an unsafe condition
• Any cargo that poses a risk to health, safety, and property during transport

Correct answer: Anyone or anything that may cause an unsafe condition

A hazard is any road user or road condition that could be a danger. A car braking hard near an exit is a hazard. So is a work zone, or an object lying in the road. A hazard is not yet an emergency. If that car cuts in front of you, it becomes one. Spotting the hazard early is the whole point. You gain time to check your mirrors, signal, and change lanes or slow down. A driver who sees it late must brake hard or swerve, and sudden moves like that often cause the crash.

Your bus is disabled with riders aboard. You may tow or push it to the nearest safe place only:

• if the distance is less than 1 mile
• if getting off the bus would be unsafe for the riders
• by another bus with its 4-way flashers on

Correct answer: if getting off the bus would be unsafe for the riders

You get riders off a disabled bus before it is moved. Towing or pushing a bus with people still aboard adds risk you cannot control from the driver's seat, so it is the last choice, not the first. You do it only when getting off would be unsafe for the riders. Even then you go no further than the nearest safe spot, and you let the passengers off there. No distance makes it allowed, and neither does the vehicle doing the towing. Follow your employer's guidelines on towing or pushing disabled buses.

Which statement about emergency roof hatches on a bus is correct?

• You may lock some of them partly open for fresh air.
• You must keep them fully open whenever the weather is hot.
• You may open them only after a crash or other emergency.

Correct answer: You may lock some of them partly open for fresh air.

For fresh air, you are allowed to lock some of the emergency roof hatches partly open. This should not become a regular habit. An open hatch makes the bus taller, so remember the higher clearance while you drive. The rule allows hatches locked partly open, not fully open hatches for hot weather. The choice that says to open them only after a crash is also wrong, because a partly open hatch for fresh air is allowed.

When must you complete a vehicle inspection report?

• At the start of the workday, before driving any vehicle
• At the end of your shift
• Only when you discover a defect during a pre-trip inspection
• Only after the carrier reviews and approves your report

Correct answer: At the end of your shift

You inspect your bus at the end of each shift, and that is when the report is written. Before you drive, you only review the report the last driver left; you do not write yours then. If you drive for an interstate carrier, you must complete a written report for each bus you drove. List every defect that would affect safety or could cause a breakdown. If you found no defects, the report should say so. Keep a copy in the bus for one day so the next driver learns what you found. Without the report, the next driver takes out a bus with a fault nobody wrote down.

When approaching a drawbridge with no signal light or traffic control attendant, you must stop at least _______ from the bridge's draw span.

• 50 feet
• 100 feet
• 15 feet
• 75 feet

Correct answer: 50 feet

A drawbridge can be open, which means the road ahead may not be there at all. With no signal light and no attendant, nothing tells you the span is down. So you check it yourself. Stop at least 50 feet before the draw and look until you can see it is completely closed. That distance keeps a heavy bus well clear of the gap and lets you see the whole span. Stopping a few feet short of the draw puts your bumper at the edge before you can react. If a green light or an attendant controls the bridge, you slow down and make sure it is safe instead.