A vehicle behind you signals to pass. What should you do?
-
A.
Maintain your lane position and speed Correct
-
B.
Speed up so the pass is quicker
-
C.
Slow down and move onto the shoulder
The answer is "Maintain your lane position and speed"
When a vehicle passes you, hold your lane position and your speed. Any change gives the passing driver a moving target and stretches the maneuver. Learners who assume 'helping' means speeding up pick option B, falling back on a courtesy instinct rather than the manual's simple hold-steady instruction.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Speed up so the pass is quicker
Changing your speed forces the other driver to adjust and lengthens the maneuver. This answer reads 'help them out' as a duty to accelerate, when the manual asks you to hold steady instead.
C. Slow down and move onto the shoulder
Moving onto the shoulder puts your tires off the paved road and creates a new hazard. This answer borrows a rural courtesy habit of pulling half onto the dirt, which California treats as leaving the paved road.
This question tests your knowledge of Passing in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Being Passed," p.25..
Related California questions
- Where is the passing lane on a multilane California road? →
- A motorcycle is ahead of you in the same lane. May you pass it in that lane? →
- Before passing on a two-lane road, how far ahead should any hill or curve be? →
- Where does the California manual forbid passing? →
- You are driving slowly on a two-lane road where passing is unsafe. When must you use a turnout to let others pass? →
You just took one California question apart. The book does it for the whole test.
The California book unlocks a free companion: an adaptive study plan, progress synced across your devices, a denser laminate cheat sheet, and a test-day walkthrough. Verify your copy once, usually in seconds; there's nothing extra to buy.
$18.99 paperback, free companion included.