A vehicle in front of you has stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. What does the manual say about passing it?
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A.
Pass only if the crosswalk is unmarked and no signs prohibit it.
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B.
Pass carefully on the left with at least two feet of clearance.
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C.
Do not pass; the manual lists this as always unsafe and usually illegal. Correct
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D.
Wait until the pedestrian clears your lane, then pass slowly.
The answer is "Do not pass; the manual lists this as always unsafe and usually illegal."
Passing is always unsafe and usually illegal at intersections or crosswalks where a vehicle has stopped to let people cross. Choice B is the trap: it carries the two-foot lateral clearance rule from earlier in the passing section over this ban, treating clearance as a universal permission the manual never granted.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Pass only if the crosswalk is unmarked and no signs prohibit it.
The rule covers any intersection or crosswalk where a vehicle has stopped for a pedestrian, whether marked or unmarked, signed or unsigned. This answer assumes the ban only fires where paint or a sign enforces it, when the stopped vehicle itself triggers the rule.
B. Pass carefully on the left with at least two feet of clearance.
The manual bans passing here regardless of how much clearance you can offer. This answer treats the two-foot lateral clearance rule as a blanket permission, missing that a stopped-for-pedestrian crosswalk sits on the manual's no-pass list.
D. Wait until the pedestrian clears your lane, then pass slowly.
The ban covers the whole time the vehicle ahead is stopped for a pedestrian; slowing the pass or waiting for one lane to clear does not lift it. This answer applies a 'wait for the pedestrian, then go' habit from a green-light turn, where a different rule governs.
This question tests your knowledge of Passing in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Chapter 4, Your Driving: Passing," p.55..
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