I have a friend who needs help getting a commercial liscense.....

[etat]

i have a friend who is trying to get a job driving a school bus.   She REALLY needs the job.  She has  to take a test for the licenses and is  having problems with some of the questions, and can't find the answers in the book.  Mostly related to air brakes. Well, she  asked me, and I've never drove anything with air brakes, or had commercial licenses.  SO, if anyone here knows the answers to the following questions, well, i sure would appreciate you telling me so I could pass them along so she could study them before she takes her test.  Some of them pretty sure i know, but I'd hate to make a mistake by telling her wrong

1.  If the air system should develop a leak, what keeps the air in the tanks?


   a- the Governor .......  b-the tractor protector valve.........   C-the emergency relay valve  ........  d-the one way check valve



2,  the effectiveness of the  spring, emergency or parking brakes:

a) has nothing to do with the condition of the service brakes.  B)can be tested only by trained service people C)depends on the adjustment of the service brakes D) increases when the service brakes are hot


3  the application pressure gauge shows the driver how much pressure: A) has been used on the trip B) is available in the air tanks C) is being sent to the brake chambers D) none of the above


4.  retarders A) work at very low speeds B) allow you to disconnect the steering axle brakes C) cause the vehicle to skid when the roads are slippery D ) cannot be used on interstate highways

as i said, most of these i 'think' i know the answer to, but i KNOW I don't know what a 'retarder' is.  thanks again, charles...........

[Furby]

I assume she is taking the writen test at a State secretary branch?
If it's like it is here, you can go in and take the writen test as many times as you like, but only once per day and you pay when you pass. ;)

[oakiemac]

I'll ask my wife tomorrow. She is a school buss driver. Although I think she just barely passed the written test.

[Furby]

#1 is A
#2 is C
#3 is C
#4 is B
At least the way I read my book. :

Here is a link to online prep tests. ;)
http://www.layover.com/newbies/cdltest/

[Wildflower]

Here is a link most our school bus drivers read. It may help. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Section_5_-_Air_Brakes_109900_7.pdf
I will keep looking. Let me know if you need anything else  let me know.

[Quartlow]

1.  If the air system should develop a leak, what keeps the air in the tanks?


   a- the Governor .......  b-the tractor protector valve.........   C-the emergency relay valve  ........  d-the one way check valve

Depends where the leak is but I bet the answer they are looking for is
B. if air pressure drops below 60 psi the protection valve releases and sets the spring brakes


2,  the effectiveness of the  spring, emergency or parking brakes:

a) has nothing to do with the condition of the service brakes.  B)can be tested only by trained service people C)depends on the adjustment of the service brakes D) increases when the service brakes are hot

C, if the brakes are wore out or are out of adjustment the spring brakes won't work

3  the application pressure gauge shows the driver how much pressure: A) has been used on the trip B) is available in the air tanks C) is being sent to the brake chambers D) none of the above

C, its tied to the brake valve, when you step on the brakes it tells you how much pressure is going to the brakes


4.  retarders A) work at very low speeds B) allow you to disconnect the steering axle brakes C) cause the vehicle to skid when the roads are slippery D ) cannot be used on interstate highways

A retarder is a jake brake
C

as i said, most of these i 'think' i know the answer to, but i KNOW I don't know what a 'retarder' is.  thanks again, charles...........

[Wildflower]

Here is the website we use for Michigan study guide for school bus drivers.
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1627_11461_11794-105837--,00.html

[DanG]

I don't have a clue.  But, I always kinda thought the tests were to determine if the person applying for the license knew enough to safely operate the vehicle.  If she can't answer the questions that pertain to the safety of the children riding the bus, maybe she needs to look elsewhere, or study up enough to understand how and why the vehicle functions.  The school bus system is intended to transport children safely to and from school, not to provide jobs.

[Furby]

1.  If the air system should develop a leak, what keeps the air in the tanks?


  a- the Governor .......  b-the tractor protector valve.........   C-the emergency relay valve  ........  d-the one way check valve

The governor controls when the air compressor will pump air into the air storage tanks.
---------------------------------------------------
2,  the effectiveness of the  spring, emergency or parking brakes:

a) has nothing to do with the condition of the service brakes.  B)can be tested only by trained service people C)depends on the adjustment of the service brakes D) increases when the service brakes are hot

The braking power of spring brakes depends on the brakes being in adjustment.
--------------------------------------------------------------
3  the application pressure gauge shows the driver how much pressure: A) has been used on the trip B) is available in the air tanks C) is being sent to the brake chambers D) none of the above

This gauge shows how much air pressure you are applying to the brakes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

4.  retarders A) work at very low speeds B) allow you to disconnect the steering axle brakes C) cause the vehicle to skid when the roads are slippery D ) cannot be used on interstate highways

AKA Front Brake Limiting Valve: When you put the control in the "slippery" position, the limiting valve cuts the "normal" air pressure to the front brakes by half.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
as i said, most of these i 'think' i know the answer to, but i KNOW I don't know what a 'retarder' is.  thanks again, charles...........

Taken from my CDL manual.
Not sure on the retarder...........hey I haven't passed this thing yet, just looking at the book. :

[Jeff]

Some of those questions on those tests are absurd, and thats coming fropm a schoolbus house.  You dont need to understand how syncs work in a transmission in order to hit 4th gear. and really, thats what some of those questions can amount to.

[Jeff]

I want to add, in fact to what CK said DanG, in the post BEFORE the last one.  Apparently this person IS taking this serious or she would not be asking for help. She is studying and seeking answers.  We should be worried about the ones that go theough and quess and happen to guess right just enough to pass.  I hope the gal does well.

[Jeff]

Simmer down there chuck. ;)

[Furby]

I'm with Jeff, Charles!
I'm glad you posted this as I'm studying it myself.
Don't get to worked up about a side comment, we all make them once in a while. ;)


If someone knows my answers to be wrong, please speak up!

[Furby]

Oh, and DanG........a fellow near here lost his job yesterday.
He took the bus home and left a 4 year old on it.
He PASSED the test! ;)

[beenthere]

A search on 'retarder brake' comes up with jake brake, or exhaust brake......the kind that some communities have outlawed their noisy use in town.  (I think the truckers just like to hear them rattle down as they slow down, but I understand they really save on brakes).

cktate  keep cool, we are aiming to help your lady friend, for sure. We just chew on the bone a lot before......
We need to help this lady have some understanding of the subject of the questions, not just the right answer. When abstractly worded and "none of these" is a possible answer, one will need to sort out what it is they are talking about, how it fits into the truck or bus system, and decipher not only the correct answer but the right one as well.

Hopefully she is getting help studying the broader picture and not just the questions/answers for memorizing. That may likely be all that is being asked of her, however.

You are being very helpful giving her some assistance with the test.  

I recall the trick-type questions, of which given a lot of thought and analysis, one would come up with the wrong answer. I at least thought that was why I missed some of them.  :D
One I remember was something like:  When you hear a siren, do you a) keep on going, b) stop immediately, or c) continue until you find a good place to pull over.   I put 'stop immediately' and it was wrong. When I asked why, the examiner loudly and emphatically said "You don't slam on the brakes and stop in the middle of the road!!!!!!!"   I guess his interpretation of stopping immediately and mine were just a bit different.  ;D

[Jeff]

I know the one answer above is not c to the retarder, or jake break. A Jake break does NOT cause you to skid, in fact that is part of its function, to use the engine as a break, taking some of the work away from the breaking system, where a locked break CAN cause you to skid.

[Jeff]

Well, Tammy was tickled when I hollered there was a bus driving question on the forum. She tripped over two of the three dogs getting to her computer. :D

[Furby]

 :D :D :D :D :D :D
What no pics Jeff ???

[isawlogs]

Charles

As far as I know , we always called the retarder the switch on the dash to cut the amount of air going to the front brakes when driving on wet or slippery condition ... aka as ice .... so as to not lock up you front axle and possibly lose control .
 
  If you get an air leak .. I would beleive that the and hope that the emergency relay valve would kick in ...
   
Now I took this test almost 28 years ago ... And it was in french ... It took a while to answer but I get lost in translations ...

[Jeff]

Many of our old log trucks had that same lever. Flip for slippery roads. It wasn't a jake break, it was a front brake lock out as suggested. Most of the log and lumber haulers I have know, use to disable the front brakes on thier tractors up until the inspections got so strict. Most still claim to be better off with out them even on the truck.

[isawlogs]

  I have seen some guys , when we where hauling off road , take the line out and put a penny in and put the line back on to stop the air from getting to the front brakes all together .

  I do remember forgeting to flip the switch and heading down hill and coming to an iced up corner and having the front lock up ....     really really not a good thing .  Ended with having a new road where the boss did not really want one .  :

[Furby]

This is the whole paragraph:

Front Brake Limiting Valve
Some older vehicles (made before 1975) have a front brake limiting valve and a control in the cab. The control is
usually marked "normal" and "slippery." When you put the control in the "slippery" position,
the limiting valve cuts the "normal" air pressure to the front brakes by half. Limiting valves were used to reduce
the chance of the front wheels skidding on slippery surfaces. However, they actually reduce the stopping power of
the vehicle. Front wheel braking is good under all conditions. Tests have shown front wheel skids from braking
are not likely even on ice. Make sure the control is in the "normal" position to have normal stopping power.
Many vehicles have automatic front wheel limiting valves. They reduce the air to the front brakes except when the
brakes are put on very hard (60 psi or more application pressure). These valves cannot be controlled by the
driver.

[beenthere]

This continues to get interesting.
A goodle search on "define: retarder"  came up with this site

http://www.logisticsfocus.com/glossary/glossary-r.asp

In that list under 'r', down a ways, is a deinition of 'retarder' (apparently having to do with retarding or slowing down)
Device used to assist brakes in slowing the vehicle. The most common type of retarder on over-the-road trucks manipulates the engine's valves to create engine drag. (This type is commonly referred to as "Jake Brake" because the pred ominant manufacturer is Jacobs Vehicle Equipment Co.) Other types of retarders include exhaust retarders, transmission-mounted hydraulic retarders and axle-mounted electromagnetic retarders.


There are other truck related definitions as well.

ck
Those are some cool looking sculptures out of clay. Gonna have to look for them in Hallmark.

[Furby]

One thing I DID learn in school............ya gotta answer the questions with what is in the book! ;)
So far, I can find NO mention of 'retarder' or 'jake brake' IN the book. ;)

[Furby]

Well that was the closest I could find in the book.........don't mean I'm right.
Even if she gets that one wrong, she'll still pass if she knows the others.....no big deal.