Wisconsin WisDOT DMV CDL General Knowledge Practice Test 2
Test 2 of 5. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 40 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real Wisconsin test.
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age18 years
-
1. What are the rules for using your turn signal before a turn or lane change?
Show answer
Answer A: Signal early, keep the signal on until the turn is finished, then cancel it
An early, continuous signal tells others what you plan to do; cancelling afterward keeps the signal from misleading them.
-
2. You have stopped and a pedestrian is waiting to cross in front of your truck. Why should you not wave the person across?
Show answer
Answer C: Another driver may not stop, and your wave sends the person into danger
You cannot control what drivers in the other lanes will do, so you should not invite a pedestrian into a lane you do not command.
-
3. The engine oil pressure gauge falls toward zero while you are driving. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stop as soon as it is safe to do so and shut the engine down
Loss of oil pressure destroys an engine in a very short time, so the correct response is to stop and shut down rather than to drive on.
-
4. Besides slowing down, which technique most reduces the risk of a skid on a snow covered road?
Show answer
Answer B: Make every steering, braking and speed change gradual
Traction is limited on snow, and sudden inputs demand more grip than the surface can supply, so smoothness is what keeps the tires attached to the road.
-
5. Why can a Wisconsin resident drive a large motor home without holding a CDL?
Show answer
Answer C: Because it is being operated for personal, non-commercial recreational use
Wisconsin exempts recreational vehicle operators from CDL requirements when the vehicle is used non-commercially, regardless of its weight rating.
-
6. At highway speed, looking 12 to 15 seconds ahead means looking about how far down the road?
Show answer
Answer B: About a quarter of a mile
Twelve to fifteen seconds of travel is roughly a quarter of a mile at highway speed, while the same amount of time is about one block in slow city traffic.
-
7. Which lights should be used in fog, by day or by night?
Show answer
Answer A: Low beams and fog lights, together with the four-way flashers
High beam light bounces back off the water droplets and makes seeing worse, while low beams, fog lights and flashers help you see and help others see you.
-
8. What is normally required in order to move an over-width or over-length load?
Show answer
Answer B: A special permit along with warning devices such as flags and signs
Oversize movements need a permit plus marking devices, and travel is often limited to certain hours or routes.
-
9. How many questions are on the Wisconsin general knowledge test for a Class B or Class C commercial license?
Show answer
Answer D: 50 questions
Wisconsin uses a 50 question general knowledge test covering sections 1 to 3 of the Commercial Driver's Manual for Classes B and C.
-
10. What must be checked about the cargo doors and any tarpaulin before a trip?
Show answer
Answer B: That the doors are closed and latched and that any tarp is tied down securely
An unlatched door or a loose tarp can swing open or tear free at speed, spilling cargo or blocking the view of the traffic behind you.
-
11. How often must every commercial motor vehicle receive a periodic inspection?
Show answer
Answer C: At least once every twelve months
Federal rules require each commercial motor vehicle to pass a periodic inspection at least once in every twelve month period.
-
12. Why must the downshift be finished before you reach a steep downgrade or a sharp curve rather than during it?
Show answer
Answer D: Because once your speed is too high you may not get into any gear at all
If you wait until speed has built up, the lower gear may refuse to engage and you can be left in neutral with no engine braking at all.
-
13. How does a typical escape ramp stop a runaway vehicle?
Show answer
Answer B: With a bed of loose gravel or sand, often on an upgrade
Escape ramps use deep loose material, usually combined with a rising grade, so the vehicle is slowed gradually instead of being stopped by impact.
-
14. A strap runs from an anchor point on one side of the trailer, over the load, and down to an anchor point on the opposite side. How much of its working load limit counts toward the total required?
Show answer
Answer C: All of it
A tiedown that is anchored on one side, passes over or around the cargo and is anchored on the other side counts its full working load limit toward the aggregate figure.
-
15. Experienced commercial drivers scan the road ahead by roughly how much travel time?
Show answer
Answer B: About 12 to 15 seconds
Looking 12 to 15 seconds ahead gives a heavy vehicle enough room to slow or change lanes smoothly instead of reacting late.
-
16. Why does extra weight make a long downgrade more dangerous even when the brakes are in good order?
Show answer
Answer B: Gravity adds to the momentum and the brakes heat up faster
The heavier the vehicle, the more energy the brakes must turn into heat, and heat is exactly what makes brakes fade on a long descent.
-
17. What is special about the Wisconsin hazardous materials endorsement test?
Show answer
Answer D: It has 30 questions and is given only in English
Wisconsin gives the hazardous materials endorsement test with 30 questions, in English only, like the school bus test.
-
18. How does a driver measure following distance in seconds?
Show answer
Answer A: Wait for the vehicle ahead to pass a fixed roadside object, then count the seconds until the front of your vehicle reaches the same object
Counting from the moment the vehicle ahead passes a landmark until you reach it turns a gap you cannot judge in feet into a number of seconds.
-
19. You are on a freeway and see brake lights come on in several vehicles far ahead of you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Ease off the accelerator and get ready to slow down
Brake lights well ahead are an early warning that traffic is slowing, and acting on them gives a heavy vehicle the room it needs.
-
20. A driver hauling a sealed trailer that cannot be opened is still responsible for what?
Show answer
Answer D: Making sure the rig is not over the gross or axle weight limits
A seal prevents inspecting the contents, but the driver must still confirm the vehicle is not overloaded.
-
21. What age rules apply to a Wisconsin commercial learner permit?
Show answer
Answer D: You must be at least 18, and you may not operate in interstate commerce unless you are 21 and hold a federal medical certificate
Wisconsin issues a commercial learner permit at 18, but interstate operation with that permit requires the driver to be at least 21 and hold a federal medical certificate.
-
22. What is the purpose of an escape ramp on a mountain grade?
Show answer
Answer C: To stop a runaway vehicle without injuring the driver
Escape ramps use soft material or a steep upgrade to bring a vehicle with failed brakes to a controlled stop.
-
23. While checking the in-cab gauges after start-up, what should the coolant temperature gauge do?
Show answer
Answer C: Rise gradually to the normal operating range
A healthy cooling system warms the engine slowly; a gauge that shoots up or stays cold points to a problem with the thermostat, coolant or sensor.
-
24. Before starting a trip, what must the driver confirm about the weight of the loaded vehicle?
Show answer
Answer A: That it is within the legal gross and axle limits for the route being driven
Overweight vehicles brake poorly, damage tires and suspension components, and can be put out of service at a scale, so weight is checked before the wheels turn.
-
25. Why must cargo also be held down against vertical movement and not only against sliding?
Show answer
Answer D: Because a load that bounces can jump the blocking and slacken its own tiedowns
Rough road makes an unrestrained article lift; every bounce lets it move a little and works the tiedowns loose until nothing is holding it.
-
26. What is axle weight?
Show answer
Answer C: The weight carried to the ground by one axle or one set of axles
Axle weight describes how the load is shared among the axles that carry it to the road, not how much the whole vehicle weighs.
-
27. What is the driver responsible for when a load is covered with a tarp?
Show answer
Answer C: Fastening it so it cannot flap free, block a mirror, or come off in the wind
A tarp that works loose can tear away, block the driver view or the view of others, and become a hazard for the traffic behind.
-
28. On a scale, your loaded truck is well under the gross weight limit, but one axle is above the limit for that axle. What does this mean?
Show answer
Answer D: The vehicle is overloaded and the load must be shifted or reduced before you drive on
Each axle and axle group has its own limit and each must be respected; being under the gross limit does not excuse an overloaded axle.
-
29. How can a driver restart the 60 or 70 hour on-duty limit?
Show answer
Answer B: Take 34 or more consecutive hours off duty
A period of 34 or more consecutive hours off duty resets the 60 or 70 hour calculation so the driver can begin a new period.
-
30. Besides allowing the move at all, what does an oversize load permit usually set out?
Show answer
Answer C: The route to be followed, the hours of travel allowed and the warning equipment needed
Permits for oversize movements normally name the roads that may be used, restrict the times of travel, and list the flags, signs and escorts required.
-
31. You need to check your route on a navigation device. What is the correct approach?
Show answer
Answer D: Set it before the trip or after you have parked
Route programming is planning work, and it belongs to the time before the wheels turn or after the vehicle is safely parked off the roadway.
-
32. When should a lower gear be selected for a long downgrade?
Show answer
Answer D: Before you start down the hill
The gear is chosen at the top, while speed is still low, because a heavy vehicle already rolling fast may not go into a lower gear at all.
-
33. After coupling, where should the fifth wheel release handle be?
Show answer
Answer A: In the locked position with the safety latch in place
The handle must be pushed in and latched, because a handle left out means the jaws can open and release the trailer while you are driving.
-
34. The car in the next lane still has snow covering most of its windows. What should you assume?
Show answer
Answer C: That driver cannot see you and may move into your lane
A driver whose view is blocked cannot see the vehicles around, so you should assume you are invisible and stay out of that vehicle path.
-
35. Some commodities have their own detailed securement rules on top of the general ones. Which list is made up of such commodities?
Show answer
Answer C: Logs, metal coils, paper rolls, concrete pipe and crushed vehicles
The cargo securement rules add specific requirements for particular commodities, including logs, dressed lumber, metal coils, paper rolls, concrete pipe, intermodal containers, vehicles, crushed cars, roll on containers and large boulders.
-
36. Does the federal texting ban apply to a company dispatching device mounted in the cab?
Show answer
Answer B: Yes, entering or reading text on it while driving is banned
The rule is written around the act of reading or entering text on any electronic device, not around who owns the device.
-
37. At the end of the day you find no defects on a property carrying vehicle. What does the federal rule require?
Show answer
Answer B: No written report is required, although the carrier may still ask for one
For property carrying vehicles the report is required only when a defect or deficiency is found or reported, although a carrier may impose a stricter policy.
-
38. You have just passed another vehicle on a two lane road. What tells you it is safe to return to your lane?
Show answer
Answer B: You can see the whole front of that vehicle in your right mirror
Seeing the entire front of the vehicle you passed in your mirror proves you are far enough ahead to move back over without cutting the driver off.
-
39. Who must sign a driver vehicle inspection report?
Show answer
Answer D: The driver who prepared it
The report is the driver statement about the condition of the vehicle at the end of the day, so the driver signs it.
-
40. Which Wisconsin drivers can move agricultural products without a CDL despite operating a heavy vehicle?
Show answer
Answer D: Farmers and farm employees hauling farm products within 150 miles of the farm
Wisconsin exempts farmers and their employees from CDL requirements when transporting agricultural products within 150 miles of the farm.
-
41. How much sleep does a typical adult driver need each day to stay properly alert?
Show answer
Answer D: Seven to eight hours
Most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep in every 24 hours, and a driver who regularly gets less builds up a debt that shows up behind the wheel.
-
42. What makes a brake hose or air line a defect during the walkaround?
Show answer
Answer D: It is cracked, worn, kinked, or rubbing against another part
A chafed or cracked line can burst under pressure and take the braking on that circuit with it, so damage and rubbing points must be corrected.
-
43. You are about to back across a quiet street into a driveway. Which of these is good practice before you start to move?
Show answer
Answer B: Turn on the four-way flashers and sound the horn to alert anyone nearby
Warning other road users and pedestrians before a reverse maneuver gives them the chance to stop or move clear before the vehicle starts back.
-
44. Which steering system findings count as defects during the inspection?
Show answer
Answer C: Bent, loose or broken column parts, arms, drag links or tie rods, and missing nuts, bolts or cotter keys
Every joint and fastener between the steering wheel and the tires carries the driver commands, so looseness or a missing retainer can end in a complete loss of steering.
-
45. Where are the OVERSIZE LOAD signs normally carried on a vehicle moving under such a permit?
Show answer
Answer A: On the front and the rear of the vehicle
The warning signs face the traffic that meets the load and the traffic that comes up behind it, so they go on the front and the rear.
-
46. A brake light lens is cracked and the lamp still lights. How should that be treated?
Show answer
Answer B: As a defect, because water can enter and the lamp can dim or fail
A cracked lens lets in water and dirt, which corrodes the socket and dulls the lamp, so it is reported before it becomes a dead brake light.
-
47. What is the danger of letting engine speed climb past the top of the rated rpm range before you shift?
Show answer
Answer B: You can damage the engine, so the shift should be made before that point
Every engine has a rated operating range; running above it can cause serious engine damage, so the upshift belongs at the top of that range, not beyond it.
-
48. After becoming a Wisconsin resident, how long does a new commercial driver have to convert an out-of-state CDL, compared with a regular license holder?
Show answer
Answer B: 30 days for a CDL, versus 60 days for a regular license
Wisconsin gives a new resident 60 days to convert a regular license but only 30 days to convert a Commercial Driver License.
-
49. Which combination of warning devices meets the requirement for a stopped commercial vehicle?
Show answer
Answer A: Three reflective triangles, or six fusees, or three liquid burning flares
A vehicle may carry three bidirectional reflective triangles, six fusees or three liquid burning flares as its warning devices.
-
50. Your brakes have failed and you decide to use the parking brake to slow down. Why should you hold the release button or lever while doing so?
Show answer
Answer D: So you can release the brake at once if the wheels lock and the vehicle starts to skid
The parking brake can lock the wheels; keeping your hand on the release lets you let go the moment a skid starts and regain control.