After completing truck-driving school in Tucson, the next step is taking the road test portion of your CDL exam. While you may be anxious about bumping a curb or forgetting to check your mirrors, not knowing what the examiner is looking for can be even more nerve-wracking. An effective way to ease any anxiety related to the test is by learning exactly what to expect on the big day.
Automatic failures
In order to pass the CDL road test, you need to know what constitutes automatic failure. While some of these may be obvious, like getting into a wreck or running a red light, other automatic failures aren’t so easy to detect. For example, smaller actions like hitting a curb, forgetting your turn signal, and failing to check your mirrors when changing lanes all result in automatic failure. When driving a truck, these little mistakes can result in very serious consequences, so it’s important to ensure they never happen.
Acceptable mistakes
Even after years of truck driving, minor mistakes do happen. In most situations, it’s not a serious safety hazard to grind a gear or taking an extra second to find the right RPM to get into gear. So long as you demonstrate sufficient proficiency in shifting, you won’t fail the road test with a few ground gears or missed shifts. If you make these minor mistakes on the test, just keep your composure, take your time, and find the right gear.
Non-driving considerations
Your demeanor during the test is actually a main factor guiding the examiner’s decision to license you. Trucking is a high-pressure occupation, as you spend the day dealing with heavy traffic, terrible weather, and impatient drivers. For this reason, you need to show the examiner that you can stay calm when faced with serious stress.
HDS Truck Driving Institute has been proudly training Tucson truck drivers since 1991. As a fully-accredited educational institution, we have trained thousands of students to pass their Commercial Driver License exam. To learn how we can help you become the kind of professional driver companies seek, please call (877) 205-2141.
