Seymour, CT -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2013 -- Driving a tractor-trailer truck is a difficult business - you have to operate a large and unwieldy piece of machinery, day after day, on roads of varying quality, surrounded by heedless motorists and sometimes even bicyclists whose mistakes you could end up paying for. You have to know how to make turns in a large and heavy vehicle, how to back up to a loading dock with few visual cues. Truckers are subject to stringent safety regulations and liability, and have to know not just how to operate their truck but how to maintain it as well. Even shifting gears in a large truck is something akin to rocket science.
To help trucking candidates, Allstate Commercial Driver Training School - a Connecticut-based training facility that helps candidates obtain a commercial driver's license in the state - publishes a number of useful materials that are designed to explain certain basic aspects of trucking and help CT CDL license( http://www.allstatetraining.com/index.php/courses ) candidates understand what they're in for. The latest article( http://ezinearticles.com/?Tractor-Trailer-Air-Brakes-And-Why-They-Matter-For-Your-Commercial-Drivers-Test&id=7720430 ) introduces the principles of a truck's air braking system.
Unlike passenger cars that use a hydraulic system filled with brake fluid to transmit pressure from the pedal to the brake assembly, a large commercial vehicle uses compressed air. The reasons for this are manifold - with a brake fluid system, attaching and detaching a trailer suddenly becomes a messy and spill-prone business; air bubbles are more likely to enter the system in the process, jeopardizing its effectiveness; due to the large stresses and heat generated in the course of attempting to bring an extremely large and heavy vehicle to a stop, a liquid may end up vaporizing and introducing gas into the system, again creating the danger of malfunction.
For these and other reasons, large trucks take in air via an engine-driven compressor, store it in several tanks at high pressure, and use it to actuate brakes when needed. This system, while more versatile in many ways, is also significantly more complex than a passenger car brake system, which is why CDL tests include extensive questioning about air brake operation and maintenance - the CT CDL( http://www.allstatetraining.com/index.php/courses/cdl-a-program ) test, for example, has an entire section devoted to the system.
The Allstate article explains the basic composition of the system, which includes a compressor, main air tank, safety valves, air lines, brake drums and wheel assemblies. The article also discusses the truck safety brake, which activates automatically when the air brake system suffers a loss of pressure.
For more detailed information, please check out the original article.
About Allstate Commercial Driver Training School
Allstate Commercial Driver Training School is Connecticut's premier CDL training facility - founded in 1975, the school is open 7 days a week and provides expert training in CDL Class A, Class B and forklift operation.
Contact Info:
Allstate Commercial Driver Training School,
249 Pearl St Seymour, CT 06483
(203) 922-8252
http://www.allstatetraining.com/