§383.113 Required skills.

*Question 1: A driver holding a CDL with an “air brake restriction” wants to operate a commercial motor vehicle of the same vehicle group which is equipped with air brakes. Must the driver retake the complete CDL test, or may the State conduct a partial test to determine the driver’s air brake skills?

Guidance: Since the applicant has already demonstrated the ability to drive a vehicle in a specific vehicle group, the State may conduct a test that includes only the Air brake knowledge requirements of §383.111(g) and the Air brake skills, Pre-trip inspection skills and Driving skills required by §383.113(c). The Driving skills test need only demonstrate that the driver can safely and effectively operate the vehicle’s air brakes.

*Question 2: May a driver use a truck tractor (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5) as a representative vehicle for purposes of completing the skills tests for a Class B commercial driver’s license (CDL)?

Guidance: No. A driver must be tested in a truck or bus (as those terms are defined in 49 CFR 390.5), or other single unit vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 11,794 kilograms (26,001 pounds) or more to satisfy the skills testing requirements for a Class B CDL. A truck tractor is designed to operate with a towed unit(s), typically a semitrailer (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5) and therefore could only be used as a representative vehicle when connected to a semitrailer, for a Class A CDL.

*Editor’s Note: The interpretation was issued after the interpretations were published in the Federal Register in April 1997.