California CDL — General Knowledge: Signals & Pavement Markings Practice Test

Question 1

When you are stopped on the side of the road or moving much slower than traffic, what should you turn on?

Accepted Answer

Your four-way emergency flashers — Turn on your four-way emergency flashers to warn other drivers. They tell approaching traffic that your vehicle is stopped or moving unusually slowly.

Answer

Your high-beam headlights

Answer

Only your left turn signal

Answer

Nothing; other drivers will notice you

Question 2

How do the convex (curved "spot") mirrors on a truck change what you see?

Accepted Answer

They make objects look smaller and farther away — Convex mirrors show a wider area but make objects look smaller and farther away than they really are. Remember this so you do not misjudge how close a vehicle actually is.

Answer

They make objects look larger and closer

Answer

They show the same size as a flat mirror

Answer

They only show what is directly behind you

Question 3

How can you warn a driver behind you that you are about to slow down where they may not expect it?

Accepted Answer

Tap the brake pedal to flash your brake lights — Tap the brake pedal a few times to flash your brake lights. The extra flashes draw the following driver's attention before you slow or stop.

Answer

Turn your headlights off and on

Answer

Speed up briefly

Answer

Wave your arm out the window

Question 4

How far ahead of a school bus stop should the driver switch on the alternating amber warning lamps?

Accepted Answer

About 200 feet, roughly five to ten seconds out — The amber lamps warn traffic that a stop is coming, so they go on well before the bus slows — roughly two hundred feet, or five to ten seconds, ahead of the stop unless local law sets something else.

Answer

About 50 feet, roughly one second out

Answer

About 500 feet, roughly twenty seconds out

Answer

Only once the bus has come to a complete halt

Question 5

A white line is painted across the pavement short of a set of railroad tracks. Where must a stopped school bus sit in relation to it?

Accepted Answer

The front of the bus stays behind the line — Where a stop line is painted, it fixes the stopping point for that crossing. A school bus making its required stop keeps the front of the vehicle behind the painted line.

Answer

The rear axle stays behind the line

Answer

The bus straddles the line so the driver can see both ways

Answer

The line governs cars only, so the bus may cross it

Question 6

You are approaching a signal that has been showing green the whole time you have had it in sight. What should you expect?

Accepted Answer

That it is likely to change soon, so you ease off and get ready to halt — A light that has been green a long while is nearer the end of its cycle than the start. Reading it that way gives a heavy vehicle the room it needs to stop smoothly instead of hard.

Answer

That it will hold green until you have cleared the intersection

Answer

That the signal has failed and should be treated as a stop sign

Answer

That you should speed up to get through before it changes

Question 7

When should you signal before making a turn in a large vehicle?

Accepted Answer

Early, well before you begin the turn — Signal early, well before the turn, so other drivers have time to react. Keep signaling through the turn, and turn the signal off afterward if it does not cancel on its own.

Answer

At the last moment as you start to turn

Answer

Only if another vehicle is nearby

Answer

Signaling is optional in a large vehicle

Question 8

A car behind you wants to pass and you can see that the road ahead is clear. Should you wave the driver around?

Accepted Answer

No — waving another driver past can leave you carrying the blame for the crash — Signals are for telling others what you intend to do, not for telling them what is safe. Judging the gap belongs to the passing driver, and if your wave leads to a collision the cost can land on you.

Answer

Yes, flashing your lights is the accepted way to signal a clear road

Answer

Yes, but only on a two-lane road in daylight

Answer

Yes, provided you first sound your horn twice

Question 9

You are halfway through a turn in a tractor-trailer. What should be happening with your turn signal?

Accepted Answer

It should still be flashing, and you cancel it only once the turn is finished — Leave the indicator running through the whole maneuver so nobody has to guess what you are doing. Switching it off is the last step, and on a rig without self-cancelling signals that step is easy to forget.

Answer

It should already be off, so that both hands stay on the wheel

Answer

It should be replaced by your four-way flashers

Answer

It should be switched off and on repeatedly to hold attention

Question 10

A large X is painted on the pavement together with the letters RR. What message do those markings carry?

Accepted Answer

The same warning as the round yellow sign posted ahead of a crossing — Pavement markings repeat the advance warning that a crossing is coming up. On two-lane roads they are accompanied by a no-passing marking, and by a no-passing sign as well.

Answer

A rest area for commercial vehicles lies just ahead

Answer

The lane is reserved for railroad maintenance trucks

Answer

The tracks were lifted and the crossing is now closed

California CDL — General Knowledge: Signals & Pavement Markings practice test

Study questions with answers

1. When you are stopped on the side of the road or moving much slower than traffic, what should you turn on?

2. How do the convex (curved "spot") mirrors on a truck change what you see?

3. How can you warn a driver behind you that you are about to slow down where they may not expect it?

4. How far ahead of a school bus stop should the driver switch on the alternating amber warning lamps?

5. A white line is painted across the pavement short of a set of railroad tracks. Where must a stopped school bus sit in relation to it?

6. You are approaching a signal that has been showing green the whole time you have had it in sight. What should you expect?

7. When should you signal before making a turn in a large vehicle?

8. A car behind you wants to pass and you can see that the road ahead is clear. Should you wave the driver around?

9. You are halfway through a turn in a tractor-trailer. What should be happening with your turn signal?

10. A large X is painted on the pavement together with the letters RR. What message do those markings carry?

More CDL — General Knowledge topics

Practice Signals & Pavement Markings in another state