How Do Cdl Road Tests Work?

Hello everyone, Juan from New York here. This has been an elaborate and fantastic website designed to make us all better as current or future commercial drivers. Although i understand the process of getting a cdl , i'm still confused about how the road test goes, is it all in one day? pre inspection, skills, etc. Also i am looking to get a class A with all endorsements at once (dont know if it is possible). If it is possible then what kind of vehicle do you use for the test? I figure that having any restrictions on a cdl is pretty ludicrous. I had someone tell me that they will never drive hazmat in their life. Which was pretty interesting since none of us really have our lives set in stone. Anyways, I'll appreciate any help i can get in regards to this topic. Cheers.

Hey Juan and welcome.

First, there is no road test for any of the endorsements (that I know of). It is an all in one deal completed in a couple hours. I don`t know how NY does it, but, here is how it went in TN:

This has been over a year ago so forgive me if I miss something. I will go in order from start to finish.

Pre-trip - Separated into 3 sections. Basically driver side, passenger side and entire rig. I got entire rig and just did a full pre-trip inspection calling out parts, what I`m looking for etc.

Next was backing. I had to do a straight back, offset back and a parallel park.

Road trip! If you pass the pre-trip and backing the tester will take you on the road. They are looking for safe driving, not perfect, just safe. While driving the tester asked me questions like "what did that sign say?" and (after he had me pull over to simulate a breakdown) "what do you need to do now?". He took me through tight intersections, an industrial area and on the interstate. The last thing I did was pull back into the school yard and back into a spot. That was basically it.

I tested in a standard transmission (can`t remember how many gears) Peterbilt, which I had already driven as part of the schooling.

That is all I can really remember. Hope it helps.

Oh, he also had me call out what I was doing for a couple miles. I had to say things like "I am looking ahead at the intersection to check traffic flow and to be prepared for a light change while also checking my mirrors for vehicles approaching on either side. I am now going to slow the truck to keep a good distance from the vehicle in front of me because the light is changing to red... etc."

The road rest was much easier in Texas.

No pretrip needed. Just the air brake test. The only thing the tester and I talked about during the drive were his hunting dogs,

I am guessing though in Albany they are going to act like Yankees and hit you on every little annoying thing.

Each place is going to be different.

The thing that made it really easy for me was I was doing the test through company training. So the guy that was training me knew every single thing they do on the test and had me go over every step several times.

Juan, Go to the menu here and go to Online CDL Training Materials. You can download the New York CDL manual. There is a section that covers the pre-trip and the driving portion.

As some other folks pointed out: your road skills test has nothing to do with endorsement tests. Endorsement tests and your General Knowledge tests are standardized, written tests. Basically the process in a nutshell is getting your permit, taking your written tests, completing your road skills test with a certified examiner. Some folks take all their written tests the day they get their permit.

The pre-trip was actually the most time consuming for me to study. Depending on what school you go to - company or private - study the pre-trip info they give you. You can supplement with the material on this site, but some schools are so specific as to what THEY want you to know, that you'd be better off studying their material. Granted, most pre-trip study guides are saying the same thing, but you'll want to also satisfy your particular school's curriculum requirements. Pre-trip was the only part of my studying where I didn't use this website's resources. I broke down my school's pre-trip info into flash cards and drilled myself day after day. I carried them around in my pocket and used a small ring to hold them together. Repetition and small chunks are best for retention.

Road skills test will include your pre-trip and an air brake leak test, driving, and certain maneuvers like straight-line backing, etc. The skills test will vary somewhat according to each state, and even more, will vary as far as the difficulty of the run. It will also vary depending on each examiner.

My road skills test took about an hour, including the actual 45 minute trip.

I think you are wise in getting all you endorsements. I got all of mine except for passenger (bus). Utilize the resources on this site, including High Road Training Program , and once you start blasting through the High Road and have the content down, you'll ace your written tests. I went through the High Road twice. When I was done, I knew all the answers without hesitation.

Another note, at least in PA, you'll actually need to drive a bus if you're getting the passenger endorsement. That's the only exception in regard to endorsement tests and what vehicle you use for the skills test, as per your original question.

Best wishes to you.

Up here in Maine we have a strict one hour time limit to complete all three phases of the test. Backing, pretrip, and road. If you only complete the first two but time runs out you have to go back and do the road test another time.

When I showed up for mine it was really fast. The examiner asked for my license and permit and told me how things would go. My truck was already set up in the backing course for me. I jumped right in and did the for Backing maneuvers. This was different for me because at school we just practiced these at idle speed but since I was being timed I had to use the throttle. It made doing corrections a little crazy. After that I pulled the truck to the side for the pretrip. I never once owned the hood or crawled under anything, or even got in the cab. I verbally went over everything in the pretrip and even explained the in can and air brakes steps. When he was satisfied that I knew it we immediately got in and started on the road test. Before we pulled out onto the road he had me do a hill stop. In Maine we have to set brakes , put our feet flat on the floor, put it in gear, get the gear to grab then release the brakes. It's not real world stuff but it's what they want. After that we went on a short little three mile loop. He never asked me anything. It was completely silent. When we got back he said a few things he noticed that I did and that it wasn't a big deal and I passed.

All in all really easy but stressful because of the time allowed.

Hope this helps. Good luck

That's interesting Heavy C, having a time limit.

I can share in what some of Heavy C said. For us, I never even opened the hood of the truck to do part of my pre-trip. It was all verbal. In fact, once the examiner was satisfied that I knew my material, he just moved me on. I probably didn't go over 1/3 of all the pre-trip stuff I studied.

Also, like Heavy C's story, I had to demonstrate how to descend a grade downhill. For us, I simply had to state that I tapped on the service brake before I started downhill.

As you can see Juan, your experience will vary from state to state, and even from school to school, or examiner to examiner. All you can do to prepare is to know your material, and make sure you practice your road skills at whatever school you attend.

For mine we had to do a thorough pre-trip inspection , lights, front, sides, rear, trailer, engine, cab. Then an air brakes test. Then backing between cones, I had to do straight back, offset back and alley dock. Then we went for a little drive, he asked me what the posted speed limit was after we past a speed limit sign. There were a a couple of potential automatic fails like hitting a curb or running a red light. We did sort of an out and back thing turning around in a gas station parking lot. The entire thing took about 45 minutes or so. This was in NM.

Phil

Thanks to all of you my soon to be fellow truckers! lots of useful information. It helped me comprehend this. ill most likely be taking my road test at the end of the year. you'll all know if i pass and you guys are invited to NYC for a celebration. As long as nobody gets placed out of service afterwards! haha.