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Seeing Hazards

Seeing Hazards is a required knowledge area under 49 CFR 383.111(a)(13) (recognizing road characteristics and road user activities that signal danger). No codified federal rule states a specific hazard-recognition technique; the clues tested here are standard driver-training content.

Practice Seeing Hazards

5 Questions

  1. A CDL driver notices a car ahead slowing near a freeway exit as if the driver is unsure whether to take it. At this point, why is the slowing car considered a hazard rather than an emergency?
  2. Why should a CDL driver treat a van with a loaded cargo area, or a rental truck, as a greater hazard than an ordinary passenger car nearby?
  3. Approaching an alley entrance, a driver can see only the front bumper of a car waiting to pull out, not its driver. What should this tell the CDL driver?
  4. On a rainy day, why might a pedestrian walking with an umbrella near the roadway be a greater hazard than usual to a CDL driver?
  5. Beyond simply noticing a hazard, what should a CDL driver do with that information according to defensive-driving practice?