Introduction & Scoring

Introduction

The basic control skills test your ability to perform basic skill maneuvers that are essential for the safe operation of commercial vehicles. Although you may not perform all of these particular maneuvers on the job, the ability to control a vehicle and judge the vehicle’s position in relation to other objects is very important. The following exercises are designed to test your performance of these basic control skills.

Test Exercises

Basic control skills tests are made up of three (3) of the following six (6) exercises. These tests will normally be conducted in a parking lot setting, on courses set up by the examiner. The examiner may also ask you to perform one or more of the exercises somewhere on the street during the road test. The tests consist of:

1. Straight line backing
2. Offset back/right
3. Offset back/left
4. Parallel Park (driver side)
5. Parallel Park (conventional)
6. Alley dock

Category of Test Exercises

The examiner will choose the exercises he/she wishes you to perform. The examiner will include one exercise from each of the following three (3) categories:

Category 1 (Always Used):

1. Straight Line Back

Category 2 (Examiner will pick one):

1. Offset Back – Left
2. Offset Back – Right

Category 3 (Examiner will pick one):

1. Sight Side Parallel Park
2. Conventional Parallel Park
3. Alley Dock

For example, you may be asked to perform a Straight Line Backing, Offset Back – Left, and the Alley Dock exercises for your test. It is important that you practice and know how to perform all six (6) exercises because you will not know which ones the examiner will ask you to do for your test.

SCORING

You must receive 12 errors or less to pass the basic control skills portion of the test.

Encroachments

The examiner will score the number of times you touch or cross over an exercise boundary line with any portion of your vehicle. Each encroachment will count as an error and each error is worth two (2) points.

Pull-ups

When a driver stops and pulls forward to clear an encroachment or to get a better position, it is scored as a “pull-up”. Stopping without changing direction does not count as a pull-up. You will not be penalized for initial pull-ups. However, an excessive number of pull-ups will count as errors, and each error is worth one (1) point.

Outside Vehicle Observations (Looks)

You will be permitted to safely stop and exit the vehicle to check the external position of the vehicle (look).

• When doing so, you must place the vehicle in neutral and set the parking brake(s).
• When exiting the vehicle, you must do so safely by facing the vehicle and maintaining three points of contact with the vehicle at all times.
• When exiting a bus, maintain a firm grasp on the handrail at all times.

If you do not safely secure the vehicle or safely exit the vehicle it may result in an automatic failure of the skills test.

The maximum number of times that you may look to check the position of your vehicle is two (2) except for the Straight Line Backing exercise, which allows one look.

Each time you open the door, move from a seated position where in physical control of the vehicle or, on a bus, walk to the back of a bus to get a better view, it is scored as a “look”.

You will not receive any points for free “looks”; however, you will not be allowed to exceed the total number permitted for the exercise.

Final Position

It is important that you finish each exercise exactly as the examiner has instructed you.

• If you do not maneuver the vehicle into its final position as described by the examiner, you will be penalized 13 points and will fail the basic skills test.
• You are allowed to measure the distance from the rear of your vehicle to the exercise boundary line.
• You are also permitted to place a reference mark or object to aid you in positioning the vehicle within the exercise boundary.

You will not be allowed to end any backing exercise with an encroachment. If you have set the brake and sounded the horn indicating final position and you are over or touching a boundary line, the examiner will instruct you to maneuver the vehicle back into the boundary lines of the exercise. The examiner will score you for an encroachment and a pull-up once you return within bounds.

Time Limits

Backing test exercises are subject to time limits as follows:

Going over the time limit will result in a one point deduction for each minute past the limit.