Beginning between 1997 and 1999, most commercial vehicles, trailers, and dollies are required to be equipped with ABS.

To avoid hitting vehicles behind you, you must ensure that your vehicle will not roll backward when you start moving forward from a stopped position.

If you discover a cargo leak while transporting hazardous materials, use the shipping papers, label, or package location to identify which materials are involved. Do not try to touch or smell the leaking materials to determine what they are because doing so could result in injury or death.

In wet conditions, a lack of spray coming from the tires of other vehicles indicates that ice has formed on the road. Be especially cautious when traveling under wet conditions in freezing weather.

As the first step of a vehicle inspection, a driver should review any inspection report left by the previous driver.

Push in the trailer air supply control to supply the trailer with air. Pull out the trailer air supply control to turn off the air supply and activate the emergency brakes.

Before operating a tank vehicle, be sure to check for any cracks or leaks in the tank. It is illegal to carry liquids or gases in a leaking tank.

If you must drive in fog, be sure to slow down. Turn on your flashers and low beam headlights.

Explosives are placed in hazardous materials Class 1.

When inspecting your tires, verify that there is tread depth of at least 4/32 of an inch in every major groove on the front tires and tread depth of at least 2/32 of an inch in grooves on the other tires. Be sure that your tires are not too worn, are not cracked, have proper air pressure, and are all equally sized.

If your CMV gets stuck on railroad tracks, you should immediately leave the vehicle and get away from the tracks. Check the signposts or signal housing at the crossing for emergency contact information and call 911, or another appropriate emergency number.

A steering wheel should have no more than 10 degrees of play. This is equal to about two inches of movement at the rim of a 20-inch wheel. If there is more play than this, it may be difficult to steer.

The shipper of hazardous materials is responsible for correctly labeling and marking them. The driver should make sure that the shipper properly labeled and marked the materials before beginning a trip.

It is essential that exhaust system parts are not leaking or otherwise broken. A faulty exhaust system can let poisonous fumes into the cab or sleeper berth.

A vehicle that lacks the proper placards for any hazardous materials on board may not be driven, except as necessary to protect life and property in an emergency.

When transporting hazardous materials, shipping papers should be kept in a pouch in the driver's side door, or in another location where the driver is able to easily reach them while their seat belt is fastened. The papers must be easily visible to anyone who is entering the cab.

Because air pressure increases as air expands in the heat, it is important to monitor your tire pressure when driving in very hot weather. To prevent the engine from overheating, there must be an adequate amount of oil in the engine, as well as enough water and antifreeze in the cooling system. Antifreeze is helpful for the engine in both hot and cold weather.

If a parked trailer does not have spring brakes, wheel chocks should be used to prevent it from moving.

If you must drive so slowly that you will impede the flow of traffic, you should turn on your four-way flashers to alert drivers behind you (as long as local laws allow the use of flashers).

To avoid hitting anything behind you, make sure that your vehicle does not roll back when you start from a complete stop.