Pennsylvania Commercial Driver's License Manual Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the Pennsylvania Commercial Driver's License Manual covering CDL classifications, safety rules, air brake components, combination vehicles, and hazardous materials rules.

Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR)

The value specified by the manufacturer of the power unit, or the sum of the gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs) or gross vehicle weights (GVWs) of the power unit and the towed unit(s).

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)

The value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.

Class A Commercial Driver's License

A CDL issued to individuals 18 years of age or older qualified to operate any combination of vehicles with a GCWR of $26,001\,lbs$ or more, provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of $10,000\,lbs$.

Class B Commercial Driver's License

A CDL issued to individuals 18 years of age or older qualified to operate any single vehicle with a GVWR of $26,001\,lbs$ or more, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle having a GVWR of not more than $10,000\,lbs$.

Class C Commercial Driver's License

A CDL issued to individuals 18 years of age or older qualified to operate any single vehicle with a GVWR of not more than $26,000\,lbs$ or combination vehicles not meeting Class A or B, used to transport 16+ passengers or placarded hazardous materials.

Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT)

An organization that educates and equips members of the transportation industry to recognize and report human trafficking along highways and at truck stops.

Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT)

Mandatory baseline training required by FMCSA for entry-level drivers seeking a Class A or B CDL for the first time, upgrading a CDL, or obtaining a passenger (P), school bus (S), or hazardous materials (H) endorsement.

H Endorsement

An endorsement required on a CDL to operate a vehicle transporting hazardous materials placards, requiring the driver to be at least 21 years of age.

N Endorsement

An endorsement required on a CDL to operate a tank vehicle.

T Endorsement

An endorsement required on a CDL to drive double and triple trailers.

P Endorsement

An endorsement required on a CDL to drive a vehicle designed to carry 16 passengers or more, including the driver.

S Endorsement

An endorsement required on a CDL to drive a school bus designed to carry 11 passengers or more, including the driver.

X Endorsement

A CDL endorsement representing a combination of the hazardous materials (H) and tank vehicle (N) endorsements.

Pennsylvania's Implied Consent Law

A law establishing that by being licensed to drive in Pennsylvania, a driver agrees to submit to chemical tests of breath, blood, or urine if a police officer suspects DUI.

11-Hour Driving Limit

An Hours of Service regulation allowing property-carrying drivers to drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.

14-Hour Driving Limit

An Hours of Service regulation prohibiting property-carrying drivers from driving beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty.

International Registration Plan (IRP)

A registration reciprocity agreement among states and Canadian provinces providing for proportional payment of license fees based on total distance traveled in each jurisdiction.

International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)

An agreement simplifying fuel use tax reporting for interstate motor carriers by allowing them to file one quarterly tax return with their base jurisdiction.

Individual Vehicle Distance Record (IVDR)

A driver trip report document used to record distance traveled and fuel purchased for vehicles operating interstate under IRP and IFTA.

Steering Wheel Play

The free movement of the steering wheel before the front wheels respond; steering wheel play of more than $10^\circ$ (about $2\,inches$ at the rim of a $20-inch$ wheel) makes steering difficult.

Broken Leaf Spring Defect

A suspension safety defect involving broken spring leaves; if one-fourth or more are missing or broken, the vehicle is placed out of service.

Retarder

A device (exhaust, engine, hydraulic, or electric) that assists in slowing down a vehicle to reduce brake wear, applying braking power to the drive wheels when the accelerator is released.

Perception Distance

The distance a vehicle travels from the time the driver's eyes see a hazard until the brain recognizes it, averaging about $3/4\,second$ or $60\,ft$ at $55\,mph$.

Reaction Distance

The distance traveled from the time the brain tells the foot to move from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal, averaging about $3/4\,second$ or $60\,ft$ at $55\,mph$.

Braking Distance

The distance a vehicle travels after the brakes are applied until it stops; at $55\,mph$ on dry pavement with good brakes, a heavy vehicle takes about $390\,ft$ to stop.

Total Stopping Distance

The total distance required to bring a moving vehicle to a stop, calculated as: Perception Distance + Reaction Distance + Brake Lag Distance + Braking Distance.

Hydroplaning

A phenomenon where vehicle tires lose contact with a water-covered road and slide on a film of water, causing loss of steering and braking control.

Black Ice

A thin, clear layer of ice on a road surface through which the wet pavement is visible, giving the illusion that the road is only wet.

Crack-the-Whip Effect

The rearward amplification of rapid movement across combination trailers during steering maneuvers, making the rearmost trailer prone to rolling over.

Off Tracking

The difference in path between the front and rear wheels of a vehicle during a turn, where the rear wheels follow a shorter path than the front wheels.

Standee Line

A two-inch line on the floor of a passenger bus showing the area forward of which riders cannot stand while the vehicle is in motion.

Air Compressor Governor

A device controlling when the air compressor pumps air into storage tanks, shutting off at cut-out pressure ($120-140\,psi$) and starting at cut-in pressure ($100\,psi$).

Manual Draining Valve

A manual valve located at the bottom of an air storage tank operated by a quarter turn or cable pull to drain collected water and compressor oil daily.

Safety Relief Valve

A valve installed in the first air brake reservoir tank to protect the system by releasing air automatically if pressure reaches $150\,psi$.

Slack Adjuster

An adjustable link on S-cam foundation brakes connecting the brake chamber push rod to the camshaft to compensate for brake shoe wear.

Low Air Pressure Warning Signal

A mandatory visual and/or audible warning signal on air brake vehicles that activates before reservoir pressure falls below $55\,psi$.

Spring Brakes

Braking units used for emergency and parking brakes held on by mechanical spring force when air pressure is released.

Tractor Protection Valve

A valve that retains air pressure in the tractor brake system if a trailer breaks away or develops a severe air leak, closing automatically at $20-45\,psi$.

Glad Hands

Coupling devices with rubber seals used to connect service (blue) and emergency (red) air lines between a power unit and a trailer.

Baffled Tank

A bulk liquid cargo tank containing internal bulkheads with holes that permit liquid flow while reducing front-to-back liquid surge.

Un-baffled Tank

A smooth bore bulk liquid cargo tank without internal baffles, commonly used for food products, which experiences strong forward and backward surge.

Outage

The unfilled space left at the top of a bulk cargo tank to allow for thermal expansion of the liquid during transit.

Shipping Paper

A document (manifest, bill of lading, or shipping order) prepared by a shipper that describes hazardous materials by proper shipping name, hazard class, identification number, and packing group.

Hazardous Material Placard

A $9.84-inch$ ($250\,mm$) square-on-point diamond-shaped warning sign affixed to four sides of a vehicle transporting placarded quantities of hazardous materials.

Hazardous Waste Manifest

A specific hand-signed tracking paper required when transporting hazardous waste, containing EPA registration numbers for shippers, carriers, and destinations.

Bulk Packaging

Packaging (other than a vessel or barge) with a maximum capacity greater than $119\,gallons$ for liquids, net mass over $882\,lbs$ for solids, or gas water capacity over $1,000\,lbs$.

Controlled Braking

An emergency stopping technique where the driver applies the brakes as hard as possible without locking the wheels, maintaining vehicle steerability.

Stab Braking

An emergency stopping technique where the driver applies the brakes fully until wheels lock, releases them until the wheels roll, and then re-applies them fully.

Convex Mirror Field of Vision

A curved mirror system providing a wider field of view along vehicle sides, where objects appear smaller and farther away than they actually are.

Converter Dolly

A coupling device consisting of one or two axles and a fifth wheel used to couple a semitrailer to the rear of a tractor-trailer combination.