A child walks along the left side of a stopped school bus. Which hazard remains important even though the bus itself is not moving?
Correct answer: Traffic passing along that side of the bus.
The school-bus danger zone includes exposure to other vehicles. The manual specifically identifies passing traffic as a danger along the bus's left side.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.1.1 - Danger Zones; Figure 10.1; printed 10-1, physical 129; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
After taking over a school bus from a driver with a different seating position, you find that a mirror no longer gives its intended view. What should happen before operating the bus?
Correct answer: Correct the adjustment and verify the required views in all mirrors.
School-bus mirrors must be checked and, when necessary, adjusted before operation to provide the required views. Another driver's settings do not establish correct coverage for you.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.1.2 - Correct Mirror Adjustment; printed 10-1, physical 129; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
Both outside flat mirrors show clear lanes beside a school bus. What can you conclude about the area immediately behind its rear bumper?
Correct answer: It may still be hidden in a blind area.
Clear side-lane views do not prove that the space directly behind the rear bumper is clear. The manual identifies a blind area behind the bus as well as areas hidden near the mirrors.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.1.3 - Outside Left and Right Side Flat Mirrors; Figure 10.2 on physical 130; printed 10-1, physical 129; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
A person appears small and distant in a school bus's convex mirror. Why is that appearance not a reliable measure of the actual gap?
Correct answer: The mirror distorts apparent size and distance.
Convex mirrors provide a wide-angle view, but their images distort size and distance. A small-looking person may be nearer than the image suggests.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.1.4 - Outside Left and Right Side Convex Mirrors; Figure 10.3; printed 10-2, physical 130; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
During a school bus mirror check, a strip of ground ahead of the bumper is visible neither directly nor in the crossover mirrors. What does that reveal?
Correct answer: A coverage gap that needs correction before operation.
The crossover mirrors must show front ground that the driver cannot see directly, with mirror and direct views overlapping. A hidden strip between those views defeats that purpose.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.1.5 - Outside Left and Right Side Crossover Mirrors; Figure 10.4 on physical 131; printed 10-2, physical 130; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
The overhead interior mirror shows the students and a small view through the school bus's rear glass. Should that small view replace the outside mirrors for traffic approaching from behind?
Correct answer: No; the outside mirrors are needed to monitor that traffic.
The overhead mirror is primarily for observing student activity and has a limited rear view. The manual directs the driver to use exterior side mirrors for traffic approaching behind the bus.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.1.6 - Overhead Inside Rearview Mirror; printed 10-3, physical 131; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
A school bus driver repeatedly checks the boarding-door mirror but skips the other mirrors because the door is the busiest area. What should replace that habit?
Correct answer: A logical scan using all of the bus's mirrors.
No single mirror covers all school-bus danger areas. The manual calls for using the mirrors together in a logical sequence so that the different fields of view are checked.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.1.5 - Outside Left and Right Side Crossover Mirrors (concluding paragraph); printed 10-2, physical 130; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
A parent asks a school bus driver to move the regular pickup to a different driveway the next morning. What is the proper response?
Correct answer: Refer the request for official approval before changing the stop.
School-bus stops are officially designated; the driver must not change a stop without the appropriate written approval. NCDMV's current school-bus page also directs routing matters to the local school transportation provider.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.2 - Loading and Unloading; 10.2.1 - Approaching the Stop; printed 10-3, physical 131; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. Current NCDMV School Bus Endorsements page, Routing & Complaints/Compliments regarding school bus driver, also reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
After loading, your count is one short of the students you saw waiting. No one can yet explain where that child went. What should you do?
Correct answer: Keep the bus secured and account for the missing child before moving.
The driver must account for students before moving. An unexplained missing child could be in a hidden area around the bus; a clear doorway or a slow departure is not proof of safety.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.2.2 - Loading Procedures; 10.2.3 - Unloading Procedures on the Route; printed 10-4, physical 132; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
At a dark school bus loading stop, the bus is safely secured for boarding and has an operable dome light. How should that light be used?
Correct answer: Turn it on while students are loading.
The school-bus loading guidance calls for the dome light to be on when loading in darkness. Exterior warning lights have a different function and do not replace illumination for boarding.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.2.2 - Loading Procedures; printed 10-4, physical 132; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
A school bus driver notices that the bus has just passed a student's assigned unloading stop. What should the driver do?
Correct answer: Follow local missed-stop procedures without backing to the stop.
The school-bus section expressly says not to back up after missing an unloading stop and to follow local procedures. It does not authorize an improvised replacement stop or a student-directed reversing maneuver.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.2.3 - Unloading Procedures on the Route (note); printed 10-4, physical 132; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
A student's notebook falls near the school bus while the student is getting off. What should the student have been taught to do?
Correct answer: Leave it, move to a safe place, and get the driver's attention.
A child who bends down or returns for an object can disappear from the driver's view. The manual directs students to leave the object, move out of danger and get the driver's attention rather than retrieve it on their own.
Source: North Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual, 2005 CDL Testing System; Section 10 - School Buses; 10.2.5 - Special Dangers of Loading and Unloading; Dropped or Forgotten Objects; printed 10-5, physical 133; Version: July 2014. Current NCDMV-linked copy reviewed September 13, 2026. ↗
