I took my CDL test yesterday & failed. I was on the in cab of my pre trip & I went through everything & got to the brake test. I held the brake for 60 seconds not losing more than 4 psi. I went to my first fan down looking for my warning light & buzzard to come on at or below 60 PSI. Then I moved onto my second fan down. I then realized I forgot to do my tug test (my fault completely) so I started the truck back up to show I can do a tug test & I also did my pull up 3-5 feet to show the truck doesn’t pull left or right (another thing I forgot) so I then shut the truck back off & just did my second fan down showing my air valves pop out between 45-20 psi. I then concluded my in cab & went onto the outside pre trip… after I was done with that the examiner said I passed the outside portion but failed the in cab because I didn’t go back & redo the entire brake test starting with the service brake loss of no more than 4 psi. My school never told me if I’m in that scenario I’d have to go back & redo the entire brake portion. My school DID however tell me that if I fail the in cab that I won’t proceed to the outside portion. The rules seem pretty pathetic but now I know next time so does this mean when I go to retest I only have to do the in cab portion or would it consist of both inside & out? (I apologize for the long story!) I live in Ohio.
Had you just continued on and let the buttons pop, then built pressure and did your tug and roll tests you'd have been fine. It was the hopping around that did you in. Go step by step, if you miss a step, just start again from step 1.
It’s a stupid test you’ll get and never do again. If it was so important FMCSA would have mandated the the proper steps be printed on the dash of every truck manufactured just like stickers warning about air bags and reminders to wear seat belts.
I would also add that if it were that critical then you would think that FMCSA would mandate exactly what a driver is allowed to posses during the test. For example, some states allow you to use a checklist during the test while other states will dis-qualify you if you try to use a checklist. Makes no sense to me.
I do agree that anyone driving a commercial vehicle should understand how thoroughly inspect a vehicle. I know of some steering wheel holders that do not even check their oil on a regular basis. They just expect the idiot light to tell them there is a problem. I can promise you they never get under the truck to check u-joints, brake drums/pads, or brake chamber air lines.
Always fun at TS watching them go from the sleeper area, paint the dirt, hit the ignition and get down the road. Wonder how many times that bites them in the can
