CDL General Knowledge Practice Item Writer: Original Four Choice Questions Mapped to Your State CDL Manual Sections, Air Brakes Split, Rationales, and a Weak Topic Drill

Prompt

Act as a CDL training school instructor and test item writer who writes original practice questions from the state CDL manual, keeps every item tied to a manual section, and never copies questions from a real knowledge test.

Inputs:
- State and manual edition the students study from: [StateManual]
- Manual sections to cover with section numbers and short excerpts you paste (for example 2.1 Vehicle Inspection, 2.4 Seeing, 5 Air Brakes): [ManualSections]
- Test target (General Knowledge, Air Brakes, Combination Vehicles) and number of items: [TestTarget]
- Class and endorsement mix of the students (Class A, Class B, passenger, school bus): [StudentMix]
- Topics students missed on the last practice round: [WeakTopics]
- Output format: [Format]

Generate:
1. An item blueprint table: manual section, topic, number of items, and difficulty mix for TestTarget.
2. Original four choice items (A to D) for each ManualSections excerpt, one correct answer, three plausible distractors built from common student mistakes.
3. A rationale for every item that cites the manual section and explains why each distractor is wrong in one line.
4. A split when TestTarget includes Air Brakes or Combination Vehicles so those items can be given as separate quizzes.
5. A weak topic drill from WeakTopics: five quick recall items and one scenario item each.
6. An answer key in a compact grid.
7. An instructor note on items to check against the current manual edition before use.

Constraints:
- Use only facts from the pasted ManualSections. If a number such as stopping distance or a pressure value is not in the excerpt, write [confirm in StateManual] instead of guessing.
- Do not reproduce or claim to reproduce real DMV test questions.
- No trick wording, no "all of the above". Plain language. No em dashes.

Instructions

Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Generated Output

This image was generated using the prompt above.

CDL General Knowledge Practice Item Writer: Original Four Choice Questions Mapped to Your State CDL Manual Sections, Air Brakes Split, Rationales, and a Weak Topic Drill - Result

Examples

Example Input

StateManual: Ohio Commercial Driver License Manual, current edition from the Ohio BMV site
ManualSections: 2.1 Vehicle Inspection (pre trip: tires, minimum tread depth on steering axle tires is 4/32 inch, 2/32 on other tires); 2.6 Space Management (keep at least one second of following distance for each 10 feet of vehicle length below 40 mph, add one second above 40 mph); 5.4 Air Brakes Inspection (low pressure warning must come on before pressure drops below 60 psi)
TestTarget: General Knowledge plus Air Brakes, 8 items total
StudentMix: Class A tractor trailer students, week 2 of a 4 week program
WeakTopics: following distance math; tread depth by axle
Format: blueprint, items, rationales, air brakes split, weak topic drill, key, instructor note

Example Output

1) BLUEPRINT
| Section | Topic | Items | Difficulty |
| 2.1 | Tire tread depth | 2 | 1 easy, 1 medium |
| 2.6 | Following distance | 3 | 1 easy, 2 medium |
| 5.4 | Low pressure warning | 2 | 1 easy, 1 medium |
| 2.1 | Pre trip inspection order | 1 | medium |

2) ITEMS (General Knowledge)
Q1. What is the minimum tread depth for a steering axle tire?
A) 2/32 inch  B) 4/32 inch  C) 6/32 inch  D) 1/32 inch
Q2. During a pre trip check, a drive axle tire measures 3/32 inch. What should you do?
A) Replace it before driving  B) It meets the minimum for that axle  C) Move it to the steering axle  D) Add air pressure
Q3. Your rig is 70 feet long and you are driving 35 mph. How much following distance should you keep?
A) 4 seconds  B) 5 seconds  C) 7 seconds  D) 8 seconds
Q4. The same 70 foot rig is now going 55 mph. How much following distance?
A) 7 seconds  B) 8 seconds  C) 6 seconds  D) 9 seconds
Q5. A 40 foot straight truck under 40 mph needs how much following distance?
A) 2 seconds  B) 3 seconds  C) 4 seconds  D) 5 seconds
Q6. Which item is checked as part of the tire inspection on a pre trip?
A) Tread depth and inflation  B) Fifth wheel lock  C) Mirror angle  D) Seat belt latch

3) RATIONALES
Q1 B. Section 2.1: steering axle tires need at least 4/32 inch. A is the minimum for other tires. C and D are not the stated value.
Q2 B. Section 2.1: other tires need at least 2/32 inch, so 3/32 passes. A overreacts. C is unsafe because steering tires need 4/32. D does not change tread.
Q3 C. Section 2.6: 70 feet / 10 = 7 seconds below 40 mph. A and B undercount. D adds the over 40 mph second.
Q4 B. Section 2.6: 7 seconds plus 1 second above 40 mph = 8. A forgets the extra second. C and D miscount.
Q5 C. 40 / 10 = 4 seconds. A and B undercount. D adds a second that only applies above 40 mph.
Q6 A. Tread and inflation are tire checks. B, C, and D belong to other inspection steps.

4) AIR BRAKES SPLIT
Q7. The low air pressure warning must come on before pressure drops below:
A) 20 psi  B) 40 psi  C) 60 psi  D) 100 psi
Rationale: C, section 5.4. The other values are not the stated threshold.
Q8. During the air brake check, the warning does not come on as pressure falls. What does this mean?
A) The system is fine  B) The warning system needs repair before driving  C) Pump the brakes faster  D) Drain the tanks
Rationale: B, section 5.4. A ignores a failed safety device. C and D do not fix the warning.

5) WEAK TOPIC DRILL
Following distance: 50 ft at 30 mph (5 s); 50 ft at 50 mph (6 s); 60 ft at 35 mph (6 s); 60 ft at 45 mph (7 s); 75 ft at 60 mph [round per instructor policy, confirm in StateManual].
Scenario: You are 65 feet long, merging onto a 55 mph highway in rain. Explain your following distance and why rain should add more.
Tread depth: recall 4/32 steering and 2/32 other for five quick flash items.

6) KEY
1B 2B 3C 4B 5C 6A 7C 8B

7) INSTRUCTOR NOTE
Recheck tread and psi values against the current Ohio manual edition before handing this out.