You have just overtaken a vehicle on a two-lane road. According to the manual, when do you know it is safe to move back into the right lane?
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A.
When the passed vehicle's tires are visible in your rear-view mirror Correct
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B.
When you are three car lengths ahead of the passed vehicle
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C.
When your rear bumper is even with the passed vehicle's front bumper
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D.
When the passed vehicle disappears from your right-side mirror
The answer is "When the passed vehicle's tires are visible in your rear-view mirror"
The manual names one visual cue for cutting back: you must see the tires of the vehicle you passed in your rear-view mirror. That angle guarantees you are far enough ahead to clear the passed car's front end. Drivers who fall back on the "clear the side mirror" habit taught in driver's-ed videos, rather than the manual's tires-in-rear-view test, pick D.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. When you are three car lengths ahead of the passed vehicle
The manual does not measure this step in car lengths; it names a visual cue, seeing the passed vehicle's tires in your rear-view mirror. This answer falls back on the three-car-lengths rule of thumb taught for following distance, applying it to a step the manual settles with the mirror check.
C. When your rear bumper is even with the passed vehicle's front bumper
Bumper alignment still leaves most of the passed vehicle inside your right-rear blind spot; the manual makes you wait for its tires to appear in the rear-view mirror. This answer trusts the driver's-seat sense of being past the other car instead of the rear-view mirror check the manual names.
D. When the passed vehicle disappears from your right-side mirror
The side mirror hides the vehicle right when it enters the blind spot; the manual names the rear-view mirror, not the side mirror. This answer substitutes the side-mirror-gap habit taught in driver's-ed videos for the tires-in-rear-view test the manual specifies.
This question tests your knowledge of Passing in Florida. Source: Florida Driver Manual, "Passing," p.67..
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