On an interstate highway, the manual says to use the left lanes for what purpose?
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A.
Passing other vehicles. Correct
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B.
Cruising at the posted limit for long distances.
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C.
Preparing to exit at the next ramp.
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D.
Merging in from on-ramps.
The answer is "Passing other vehicles."
The manual's interstate rule is to keep to the right and use the left lanes for passing. The left lanes are a passing tool, not a cruise lane. Option B is the trap: drivers who call the left lane the fast lane and settle in there for the long haul are applying a highway habit the keep-right rule rejects.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Cruising at the posted limit for long distances.
The left lane isn't a cruise lane under the manual; drivers belong on the right between passes. Treats the left lane as the fast lane open to any limit-matched travel, a habit the keep-right rule rejects.
C. Preparing to exit at the next ramp.
The quoted rule names passing as the general purpose of the left lanes; which lane to use for a particular exit depends on that exit's signs and lane configuration. Reads the left lane as a general exit-prep lane, as if every ramp came off the same side.
D. Merging in from on-ramps.
Entering traffic uses the acceleration lane to match speed and merge safely; the quoted left-lane instruction applies to passing after you are already on the interstate. Conflates the acceleration-lane merge rule with the left-lane passing rule, treating one sentence as if it covered both.
This question tests your knowledge of Lane Changes & Merging in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Interstate Highways," p.64..
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