After passing a vehicle on a two-lane highway, when may you turn back into the right-hand lane?
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A.
As soon as your rear bumper clears the front of the other vehicle
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B.
When the entire vehicle you passed is visible in your rearview mirror Correct
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C.
When you have driven at least three car lengths past the vehicle
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D.
When the driver you passed flashes their turn signals as a courtesy
The answer is "When the entire vehicle you passed is visible in your rearview mirror"
Return only when the entire vehicle you just passed sits in your rearview mirror. Choice A is the trap: drivers who watch their own rear bumper clear the other car's front are trusting feel, a habit the Illinois manual replaces with a specific mirror check.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. As soon as your rear bumper clears the front of the other vehicle
The manual sets a mirror check, not a bumper-clearance test. You return only when the entire passed vehicle sits in your rearview mirror. This answer applies the driver-ed shorthand of clearing the other car's front bumper by feel instead of the mirror check Illinois requires.
C. When you have driven at least three car lengths past the vehicle
The manual does not measure return distance in car lengths. You return only when the entire passed vehicle sits in your rearview mirror. This answer carries over a car-length rule of thumb from other driving-school materials instead of the mirror check the Illinois manual specifies.
D. When the driver you passed flashes their turn signals as a courtesy
Illinois law makes courtesy turn-signal flashes illegal, so no such signal from the other driver authorizes your return. You return only when the entire passed vehicle sits in your rearview mirror. This answer carries over the informal driver-to-driver flash-back custom from states where courtesy signal flashes are common practice.
This question tests your knowledge of Passing in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Passing," p.28..
Related Illinois questions
- Traffic ahead of you inside a construction zone is moving slowly. May you pass? →
- You are passing a pedestrian who is walking on the shoulder of the roadway. What is the minimum distance you must keep between your vehicle and the pedestrian? →
- The manual describes where passing is prohibited on Illinois roads. Which of the following is always a no passing zone? →
- Under Illinois law, flashing your turn signals as a 'do pass' courtesy to other drivers is: →
- You are finishing a pass on a two-lane highway. Before how many feet from an oncoming vehicle must you return to your lane? →
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