Kentucky CDL — General Knowledge Practice Test
50 questions · pass with 40 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
Kentucky CDL — General Knowledge questions with answers
20 sample questions from the Kentucky CDL — General Knowledge question bank — each with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the section of the official handbook it comes from.
1. Besides how much and how fast you drink, your blood alcohol concentration also depends on your:
Correct answer: body weight
BAC depends on the amount of alcohol, how fast you drink, and your weight; a lighter person reaches the same BAC with less.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.22 What Determines BAC
2. After steering around an obstacle in an emergency, you must be ready to:
Correct answer: turn the wheel back the other way
Emergency steering and counter-steering are two parts of one action; be prepared to turn the wheel back once you have passed the obstacle.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.17 How to Turn Quickly and Safely
3. The number one cause of injury and death in roadway work zones is:
Correct answer: speeding traffic
Speeding traffic is the leading cause of injury and death in work zones; obey posted limits and slow further near workers.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.6 Roadway Work Zones
4. When applying for a commercial driving job, you must give your employer details of all driving jobs held during the past:
Correct answer: 10 years
You must provide your employer with information on all driving jobs you have held for the past 10 years when you apply for a commercial driving job.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 1.4 Other CDL Rules
5. Before pulling a bus away from a stop to merge with traffic, you should:
Correct answer: wait for a large enough gap to open
Know the size of the gap your bus needs and wait for it to open; never assume other drivers will brake to give you room.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 4.3 Common Accidents
6. Battery fluid and hydrochloric acid are examples of which hazard class?
Correct answer: Class 8, Corrosives
Corrosives such as hydrochloric acid and battery fluid are listed as hazard Class 8.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.23 Hazard Class Definitions
7. A driver whose rear window is blocked or whose windows are frosted is a hazard because they:
Correct answer: cannot see you and may move into your path
People who cannot see others are a dangerous hazard; a driver with blocked vision may back out or change lanes into you.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.8 Blocked Vision
8. When changing lanes, a commercial driver should:
Correct answer: signal, then change lanes slowly and smoothly
Put on your turn signal before you change lanes, then move over slowly and smoothly so an unseen driver has a chance to react.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.5 Lane Changes
9. Because backing is dangerous, when you park you should try to:
Correct answer: position the vehicle so you can pull forward to leave
Avoid backing when you can; park so that you will be able to pull forward when you leave.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.2 Backing Safely
10. An easy way to check whether the road is beginning to ice up is to feel the:
Correct answer: front of the mirror, its support, or the antenna
Open the window and feel the front of the mirror, the mirror support, or the antenna; ice there means the road is probably icing.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.6 Vehicle Icing
11. A Class C CDL may be required for a vehicle under 26,001 pounds if it:
Correct answer: carries 16 or more passengers or requires hazmat placards
Class C covers smaller vehicles only when they carry 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or transport placarded hazardous materials.
Source: KY CDL Manual, CDL Classifications
12. Over-the-counter cold medicines are a concern for drivers because they can:
Correct answer: make the driver drowsy
Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs, such as cold medicines, can make a driver drowsy or otherwise unsafe.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.22 Other Drugs
13. To correct a drive-wheel braking skid, your first move should be to:
Correct answer: stop braking so the rear wheels can roll again
Stop braking so the rear wheels can roll again, then counter-steer as the vehicle straightens out.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.19 Correcting a Drive-wheel Braking Skid
14. Compared with a fully loaded truck, an empty truck generally:
Correct answer: requires a greater stopping distance because it has less traction
An empty truck has less traction, so it requires a greater stopping distance than when it is fully loaded.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.6 Effect of Vehicle Weight
15. Kentucky's farm-to-market CDL exemption applies within the state or, when crossing state lines, within how many highway miles of the origin?
Correct answer: 150 miles
The exemption covers farm-to-market agricultural transportation used within Kentucky or within 150 highway miles of the point of origin if crossing state lines.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Exemptions
16. When making a left turn at an intersection, you should begin the turn only after:
Correct answer: reaching the center of the intersection
Reach the center of the intersection before you start a left turn; turning too soon can let off-tracking swing your left side into another vehicle.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.7 Left Turns
17. A red triangle framing an orange center, displayed on the rear of farm machinery, tells you the vehicle is:
Correct answer: traveling well below the speed of normal traffic
The slow-moving vehicle emblem, a red triangle around an orange center, warns that the vehicle ahead is traveling well below normal traffic speed.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.8 Slow Drivers
18. Strong winds make staying in your lane hardest for:
Correct answer: lighter vehicles, and are worst leaving a tunnel
Strong winds are usually a bigger problem for lighter vehicles and can be especially bad coming out of a tunnel.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.7 Strong Winds
19. The two-inch floor line on a bus that shows riders where they may not stand is called the:
Correct answer: standee line
Buses built to allow standing must have a standee line, about two inches wide, behind which all standing riders must stay.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 4.2 Standee Line
20. If you must stop on a road or shoulder, you must put out your emergency warning devices within:
Correct answer: 10 minutes
You must set out your emergency warning devices within ten minutes of stopping on a road or shoulder.
Source: KY CDL Manual, Sec 2.5 When Parked at the Side of the Road