Parking & Stopping

Study questions with answers

7 sample Parking & Stopping questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.

1. 1. On a newer air brake vehicle, how do you set the parking brakes?

   Correct answer: Pull out the yellow diamond-shaped knob

   You apply the parking (spring) brakes by pulling out the yellow, diamond-shaped push-pull control knob, and you release them by pushing it back in.

   Source: Tennessee Commercial Driver's License Manual, Section 5 (Air Brakes) - 5.1.15 Parking Brake Controls

2. 2. What must you always do before leaving your vehicle unattended?

   Correct answer: Apply the parking brakes or chock the wheels

   You should never leave the vehicle unattended without setting the parking brakes or chocking the wheels, or it could roll away and cause injury and damage.

   Source: Tennessee Commercial Driver's License Manual, Section 5 (Air Brakes) - 5.4.8 Parking Brakes

3. 3. When making a normal stop with a manual transmission, when should you push in the clutch?

   Correct answer: Only once engine speed has fallen close to idle

   For a smooth normal stop with a manual transmission, wait to push in the clutch until the engine rpm has dropped close to idle, then select a starting gear.

   Source: Tennessee Commercial Driver's License Manual, Section 5 (Air Brakes) - 5.4.1 Normal Stops

4. 4. How do you test that the parking brake will hold?

   Correct answer: Set it, then in a low gear gently try to ease forward against it

   To check the parking brake, come to a stop, apply it, and in a low gear ease the vehicle forward against it to be sure it holds.

   Source: Tennessee Commercial Driver's License Manual, Section 5 (Air Brakes) - 5.3.3 Final Air Brake Check

5. 5. Why should you avoid pressing the brake pedal while the spring brakes are already applied?

   Correct answer: The combined spring and air forces could damage the brakes

   Pushing the pedal with the spring brakes on can damage the brakes, because the springs and the air pressure combine to overload them.

   Source: Tennessee Commercial Driver's License Manual, Section 5 (Air Brakes) - 5.1.15 Parking Brake Controls

6. 6. When should you NOT use the parking brakes to hold the vehicle?

   Correct answer: When the brakes are very hot or very wet in freezing temperatures

   Avoid the parking brakes when the brakes are very hot from a steep grade or very wet in freezing temperatures; instead let hot brakes cool or use wheel chocks, since heat or ice can damage or freeze them.

   Source: Tennessee Commercial Driver's License Manual, Section 5 (Air Brakes) - 5.4.8 Parking Brakes

7. 7. How often must you empty a manually operated air tank drain valve?

   Correct answer: At the close of each driving day

   A tank fitted with a manual drain, opened with a quarter turn or a pull cable, has to be drained by the driver at the close of each driving day.

   Source: Tennessee Commercial Driver's License Manual, Section 5 (Air Brakes) - 5.1.4 Air Tank Drains