During the vehicle inspection test, you will need to show emergency equipment, including spare electrical fuses; three red reflective triangles, six fuses, or three liquid burning flares; and a properly charged and rated fire extinguisher.

Bus passengers should never be allowed to leave baggage in the aisle or doorway of a bus. All luggage and cargo must be positioned in a manner that ensures riders are able to exit by any window or door in an emergency.

During a pre-trip inspection, you should activate your lights, then get out of the vehicle to look at them.

Be cautious when driving near people who are working on disabled vehicles. The task will likely consume their attention, so they may not be aware of traffic or other hazards on the road.

If a federal or state inspector judges a CMV to be unsafe, they may put it out-of-service until it is fixed.

When inspecting a vehicle's brakes, you should make sure the shoes and pads do not have oil, grease, or brake fluid on them.

Before slowing down, it is a good idea to flash your brake lights by lightly tapping your brake pedal a few times. This will warn drivers behind you of your plans to slow down.

Small arms ammunition labeled ORM-D, emergency hospital supplies, and drugs are permitted to be transported by bus. Most other kinds of hazardous materials may not be carried on buses.

If confronted by an aggressive driver, the most important thing for you to do is get out of their way. Avoid making eye contact, do not challenge them by increasing your speed, and do not let yourself be provoked by any angry gestures they direct toward you.

When driving a school bus, you must activate your four-way flashers while approaching and crossing a railroad crossing. Deactivate the flashers once your entire vehicle has cleared the tracks.

A bus should not be refueled while passengers are on board unless it is absolutely necessary. In particular, a bus with passengers on board should never be refueled inside an enclosed building.

On many vehicles, multi-speed rear axles and auxiliary transmissions are used to provide extra gears. They are usually controlled by a selector knob on the gearshift lever.

When checking the exhaust system, you should verify that no parts of the system are loose, broken, or missing.

It is a driver's responsibility to inspect their cargo; recognize overloading or poorly balanced weight; know that the cargo is properly secured and not obscuring their view; and know that the cargo does not restrict access to emergency equipment. The driver is always responsible for their cargo, even if they were not the one who initially loaded and secured the cargo.

A high center of gravity makes a vehicle more likely to tip over.

When inspecting a trailer during a vehicle inspection test, ensure that its landing gear has no missing parts and that it is fully raised. The crank handle should be secure and the support frame should not be damaged.

When inspecting a vehicle's exhaust system, be alert to a number of potential problems, including loose, broken, or missing exhaust pipes, mufflers, tailpipes, or vertical stacks; loose, broken, or missing mounting brackets, clamps, bolts, or nuts; exhaust system parts rubbing against fuel system parts, tires, or other moving parts of the vehicle; and exhaust system parts that are leaking.

In the event of tire failure, hold the steering wheel firmly. Stay off the brakes and let the vehicle slow down on its own. Once the vehicle has slowed considerably, you should brake very gently, pull off the road, and stop.

During emergency situations, it is usually safest for students to remain on a school bus. Evacuations are mandatory if the bus has stalled on railroad tracks, if the bus is on fire or there is a threat of fire, or if there is a hazardous materials spill. Students should be evacuated any time there is imminent danger of collision.

Retarders are mechanisms in some vehicles that help slow a vehicle and reduce the need for braking. However, using a retarder may cause wheels to skid when they have poor traction. Turn off retarders when traveling under wet, snowy, or icy conditions.