South Dakota CDL DMV Endorsement Double 2

You must sign a vehicle inspection report only if defects were noted and either certified to have been repaired or certified as not needing to be repaired.

During a trip, you should regularly make checks to ensure that your vehicle is operating properly. Check the instrument panel and gauges; look at your mirrors; and examine the tires, cargo, and lights. Use all of your senses and be alert for anything that could be an early indication of trouble.

When using your turn signals, you should signal well before the turn or lane change, signal continuously throughout the turn or lane change, and cancel the signal after you have completed your move.

Under slippery conditions, you should drive slowly and smoothly. Make turns as gently as possible and do not pass other vehicles unless you have to.

Texting while driving is particularly dangerous because it is both a mental and physical distraction to the driver. In addition to diverting a driver's mental attention away from the road, texting requires a person to remove at least one hand from the vehicle's controls.

To help avoid frustration, which can lead to aggressive driving behavior, you should begin a trip with realistic expectations about your travel time. Plan ahead to allow time for potential traffic delays. Other strategies to help prevent aggressive driving behavior include driving an appropriate speed and keeping a reasonable following distance; avoiding making gestures at other drivers; and keeping your hands on the steering wheel.

To enable smooth driving while operating a double or triple, you should consistently watch far ahead of your vehicle. Doing this will allow you to slow down or change lanes gradually when reacting to any upcoming hazards.

In an air brake system, the air storage tanks hold compressed air to be used by the brakes. The number and size of air tanks varies among vehicles.

If you need to make an emergency stop, you can use either the controlled braking method or the stab braking method. It's important to brake in a way that keeps your vehicle traveling in a straight line while still allowing you to turn, if necessary.

You should be cautious when passing parked vehicles. A person may step out of a parked vehicle or out from between parked vehicles without looking for oncoming traffic. A driver may begin moving their vehicle before realizing you are there.

Brakes are designed to take a lot of heat, but drivers should not rely solely on the brakes to slow their vehicle. Brakes may fade and lose their ability to slow down the vehicle if they become too hot, so drivers should also rely on the engine braking effect.

Possible causes of vehicle fires include spilled fuel or improper use of flares following an crash; under-inflated tires or dual tires that touch; short circuits in the electrical system; smoking around fuel; improper fueling or loose fuel connections; and carrying cargo that is flammable, improperly sealed or loaded, or poorly ventilated.

Subject to certain conditions, a tank endorsement is required to operate a tank vehicle that is used to haul either liquids or gases.

A posted speed on a curve may be safe to be driven when operating a straight truck or a single-trailer combination but unsafe to be driven in a double or triple.

The trailer hand valve (also referred to as the "trolley valve" or "Johnson bar") works the trailer brakes and should be used only when testing them. Using the trailer hand valve while driving could result in a skid.

The person driving a vehicle is responsible for its safe operation. Be sure to perform routine vehicle inspections before operating a commercial motor vehicle.

If you must drive in reverse, you should first walk around your vehicle to look at the path of travel and check for obstacles. Because mirrors have blind spots, you cannot rely exclusively on them. It is recommended to use a helper whenever possible.

A vehicle inspection should be completed in the same order every time. This will make it easier for you to learn all of the steps and will make it less likely that you will forget to check something.

When coupling a triple trailer rig, you should first couple the trailer immediately behind the cab. Connect the second and third converter dollies and trailers in order.

Avoid being an aggressive driver by being realistic about your travel time, making allowance for delays, maintaining reasonable following distances, and not making hand gestures that could anger another driver.