If you haven’t been a licensed commercial driver before, you must obtain a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) before you may take the skills test for a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Your CLP will allow you to practice operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) while supervised by a CDL holder. To obtain a CLP, you must pass a set of official knowledge tests for the class and the type of vehicles you plan to drive. One you must definitely pass is the General Knowledge test, because it covers general commercial driving theory applicable to all CMVs.
The official General Knowledge test covers a wide variety of commercial driving topics, one of which is vehicle inspections, including pre-trip inspections. Your test will likely include some questions related to pre-trip inspections, including how to check a CMV’s safety-critical systems. (Federal regulation 49 CFR § 392.7 requires you to be satisfied that all these CMV components and systems are in good working order before you drive the vehicle: brakes, coupling devices (if so equipped), emergency equipment, horn, lights and reflectors, mirrors, steering gear, tires, wheels and rims, and windshield wipers.)
All questions on the General Knowledge test are based on the official Georgia CDL manual (Georgia CDL Handbook 2025). You should study the manual, but you may find it’s not that easy to learn from. If you feel you need something more to master the theory of pre-trip inspections, we can help.
This Georgia CDL Pre-Trip Inspection Practice Test is the first of several we offer. By practicing with tests like this one, you’ll absorb the information on pre-trip inspections faster and be prepared to ace all the questions on pre-trip inspections on the General Knowledge test. Like the official test, this practice test is multiple choice. Each question comes with several answer options. You must choose the best or most complete answer. You can also get help from our AI assistant on any question. It can supply hints and explanations and answer your own questions about pre-trip inspections to help you learn.
However, unlike the official General Knowledge test, this practice test isn’t timed. Take your time and learn as much as you can. If you don’t know the answer to a question or you want to know more about the issue, look it up in the CDL manual before proceeding to the next question. You’ll learn more that way than by random guessing.
Practice with this test as often as you wish until you feel you’ve learned the material. Then try our other Georgia CDL Pre-Trip Inspection Practice Tests!