Your delivery truck must reverse beneath an unfamiliar loading canopy. What should you do before moving?
Correct answer: Get out and check the entire backing path
Walk the intended path and check side, overhead and nearby hazards. A view from the cab alone may miss an obstruction.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-9 (physical 27); 2.2.4 Backing Safely, Look at Your Path. ↗
A coworker offers to guide your truck backward. What should you settle before the maneuver begins?
Correct answer: Hand signals, including a clear stop signal
Both people should understand the signals before backing. The helper should remain where the driver can see them.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-9 (physical 27); 2.2.4 Backing Safely, Use a Helper. ↗
You can reposition a truck to back around a corner toward either side. Which setup generally gives you the better view?
Correct answer: Back toward the driver's side
Driver-side backing improves the driver's view of the rear through the side window. Repositioning first can be worth the added time.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-9 (physical 27); 2.2.4 Backing Safely, Back and Turn Toward the Driver's Side. ↗
In an unsynchronized manual truck, you stay in neutral too long during an upshift and the next gear will not engage. What is the safer response?
Correct answer: Match engine speed in neutral, then try again
Do not force a missed shift. Return to neutral, release the clutch, match engine speed to road speed and try again; the technique requires practice.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-9 (physical 27); 2.3.1 Manual Transmissions, Basic Method for Shifting Up. ↗
You checked the mirrors, then signaled a lane change. Why check the mirrors again before moving over?
Correct answer: A vehicle may have entered your blind spot
Traffic positions can change after the first check. Recheck after signaling and continue checking as the lane change begins and finishes.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-11 (physical 29); 2.4.2 Seeing to the Sides and Rear, Lane Changes. ↗
A car looks small and far away in your truck's convex mirror. What should you allow for?
Correct answer: It may be closer than it appears
Convex mirrors widen the view but make objects appear smaller and farther away. Do not judge a passing gap as though the image were a direct view.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-11 (physical 29); 2.4.2 Seeing to the Sides and Rear, How to Use Mirrors; Figure 2.7. ↗
While checking traffic around your truck, which mirror-scanning habit best keeps the road ahead under observation?
Correct answer: Take brief looks, then return to the road
Use brief mirror checks and return attention to the road ahead. Long mirror fixation lets the truck travel without monitoring developing hazards in front.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-11 (physical 29); 2.4.2 Seeing to the Sides and Rear, How to Use Mirrors. ↗
A driver behind your slow truck gestures for you to signal when passing will be safe. What is the sound practice?
Correct answer: Do not direct the other driver to pass
Do not take over another driver's passing decision. A reassuring wave can be misunderstood or overlook a hazard the other driver will encounter.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-12 (physical 30); 2.5.1 Signal Your Intentions, Don't Direct Traffic. ↗
Your loaded truck needs to slow substantially for a tight turn, and a car is following. How should you make the slowdown predictable?
Correct answer: Signal early and slow gradually
Early signaling and gradual braking give following drivers time to recognize that a large vehicle needs a slow turn.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-12 (physical 30); 2.5.1 Signal Your Intentions, Turns and Slowing Down / Tight Turns. ↗
A driver estimates stopping space using only the distance traveled after the brakes begin working. What has been left out?
Correct answer: Distance used to recognize and react to danger
The truck keeps moving while the driver perceives the danger and reacts. Total stopping space includes those distances as well as braking distance.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-14 (physical 32); 2.6.1 Stopping Distance, Perception / Reaction / Braking / Total Stopping Distance. ↗
On a cold morning the road looks clear, but you are approaching a bridge. Why should you be especially alert there?
Correct answer: The bridge can freeze before nearby pavement
Bridge surfaces can freeze sooner than nearby roads. Clear pavement before the bridge does not establish traction on the bridge itself.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-15 (physical 33); 2.6.2 Matching Speed to the Road Surface, Identifying Slippery Surfaces / Bridges. ↗
Your truck begins hydroplaning on standing water. You have room ahead and are not about to collide. How should you begin reducing speed?
Correct answer: Ease off the accelerator; avoid braking
Reduce power so the truck slows and the tires can regain road contact. Braking while hydroplaning can worsen loss of control; in a manual vehicle, the manual also calls for disengaging the clutch.
Source: New Jersey CDL Manual, March 2025 cover; Section 2, July 2017 footer; printed 2-15 (physical 33); 2.6.2 Matching Speed to the Road Surface, Hydroplaning. ↗
